


EOTW: Novella Five: Sasha's Calling

by Jayie_The_Hufflepuff



Series: Warriors: Series 5.5: Echoes of the War [11]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-13 18:08:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 43,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14753742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jayie_The_Hufflepuff/pseuds/Jayie_The_Hufflepuff
Summary: Fifth novella in the EOTW series. The loner Sasha has walked many paths, and now she is alone with no family and no purpose. But there is a calling that she has been ignoring for seasons. Now, it is time for her to face it. When her path unexpectedly crosses with warriors yet again, she must decide who she wants to be – and whether she can finally let go of her pain.





	1. Allegiances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allegiances for Sasha's Calling

Sasha’s Calling Allegiances

 

**SKYCLAN**

 

**LEADER**

SHARPSTAR - dark ginger tom

**DEPUTY**

SHREWTOOTH - skinny black tom

**MEDICINE CAT**

FRECKLEWISH - mottled light brown tabby she-cat with spotted legs

**WARRIORS**

CHERRYTAIL - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat  
WASPWHISKER - gray-and-white tom  
HARVEYMOON - plump white tom  
MACGYVER - black-and-white tom  
     APPRENTICE, GRAYPAW  
BOUNCEFIRE - ginger tom  
SAGELEAF - pale gray tom  
MINTFUR - gray tabby she-cat  
EGG - cream tom with blue eyes  
     APPRENTICE, BLIZZARDPAW  
RABBITLEAP - brown tom  
CREEKFEATHER - gray tabby tom  
     APPRENTICE, KAYLEEPAW  
NETTLESPLASH - pale brown tom  
PLUMWILLOW - dark gray she-cat  
     APPRENTICE, RUFUSPAW  
LUCKYLEAF - gray-and-white tom with amber eyes  
HONEYFLOWER - light brown she-cat  
SANDYFOOT - light brown and ginger torbie tom with amber eyes  
BIRDSHADE - black tom  
DAWNBLOSSOM - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with pale green eyes  
COSETTECLOUD - small, fluffy pale gray she-cat with pale amber eyes  
FIRELILY - ginger tabby she-cat  
STORMFALL - gray-and-ginger she-cat  
HARRYTOOTH - long-haired gray tom  
PEACHFLOWER - cream tabby she-cat with a white chest and paws and yellow eyes  
     APPRENTICE, SOFTPAW  
THYMELEAF - gray tabby she-cat with a white chest and green eyes  
LARCHLEAF - white tom with ginger tabby points and pale green eyes  
BRINDLESTORM - large dark tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with dark green eyes  
GOLDENTAIL - golden pointed tabby she-cat with pale blue eyes  
CROWDUSK - partially hairless black she-cat with golden eyes

**APPRENTICES**

SOFTPAW - fluffy very pale gray she-cat with pale green eyes  
BLIZZARDPAW - large, fluffy white tom with pale gray patches and golden eyes  
GRAYPAW - gray tabby tom with a white chest, muzzle, paws, and green eyes  
RUFUSPAW - fluffy, scruffy dark brown tom with pale yellow eyes  
KAYLEEPAW - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with one amber eye and one green eyes

**QUEENS**

EBONYCLAW - striking black she-cat, mother of Bouncefire’s kits (Sparkkit, a ginger tabby she-cat with yellow eyes, Smokekit, a black tom with amber eyes, and Emberkit, a tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes)  
TINYCLOUD - small white she-cat, mother of Sageleaf’s kits (Dovekit, a pale gray tom with yellow eyes, and Sleetkit, a pale gray-and-white tom with golden eyes)

**ELDERS**

PATCHFOOT - black-and-white tom  
PETALNOSE - pale gray she-cat  
CLOVERTAIL - light brown she-cat with white belly and legs  
BILLYSTORM - ginger-and-white tom

 

**CATS OUTSIDE OF THE CLANS**

 

SASHA - sleek tawny she-cat with darker points, a white belly, and ice-blue eyes, loner  
TETRA - golden tabby she-cat with green eyes, loner  
DAHLIA - pale gray tabby she-cat with pale green eyes, loner  
STREAM - gray she-cat with blue eyes, rogue  
LOLA - black she-cat with amber eyes, kittypet  
CASSIA - ginger-and-white she-cat with green eyes, kittypet  
ERIK - gray tabby tom, kittypet  
COAL - tattered back tom with amber eyes, loner  
SHEILA - gray-and-white she-cat, loner, mother of Coal’s kits (Storm, a black-and-white she-cat, Leaf, a gray tabby she-cat with a white cast and paws, and Patch, a black-and-white tom)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the allegiances for my newest novella. As you can see, SkyClan is involved, as well as some other familiar faces, and there's been some big changes in SkyClan. But I'll get more into that in the chapters themselves. ;) For now, I'll leave you to speculate.
> 
> I will say, however, that this book takes place around the time of Eclipse in the canon series. That means just under two years since the Clans left the forest and Sasha's kits left her for good, and about a year and a half since the end of the SkyClan and the Stranger graphic novels. Ravenpaw's Farewell and any subsequent books involving SkyClan are not canon to EOTW, so bear that in mind as the book goes along - though that should be fairly obvious from just the allegiances.


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One leaf-fall morning, a loner wanders alone...

Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War  
Novella 5: Sasha's Calling  
Chapter One

     Dead leaves crinkled under the paws of the creatures stirring in the forest. Bare branches jutted out in jagged shapes above the forest floor, casting sharp shadows onto the leaf-strewn ground below. Leaf-fall was on its way out, and soon leafbare would have its cruel grip on the forest – and it would bring the suffering of the cold season with it.

     One creature lay alone in the curve of a tree root, shivering against the pathetic nest of dead leaves and brambles she'd scraped together the night before. Her ill-groomed pelt clung to her bones, and she could feel the cold seeping into her bones already, an ache spreading through every hair on her pelt. A dull sense of misery lay like a weight in her gut. Leafbare hadn't even arrived yet, and already the chill of it bit into her pelt and stung at her eyes. It was going to be a hard season.

     A half-frozen mouse lay at her paws. The drowsy animal had practically caught itself, but even though there was still meat on its bones, the hunter couldn't bring herself to eat more. Every bite felt bitter on her tongue. After a few moments, she set the mouse aside, half-heartedly scraping a few leaves over it. She could come back and eat it later once she wasn't feeling so nauseous.

     Distant sounds suddenly caught the she-cat's attention. One ear swiveled forward to catch the sound, only to freeze as she recognized the calls of her own kind. There were other cats in the forest. By the sound of it, there were a few of them together, and they were calling out for something.

     The hair on her back began to bristle. Even as her aching limbs protested, the she-cat pushed herself to her paws and began to hobble at a painful trot away from the tree root and her prey. She didn't let herself slow until the sounds of the other cats had faded far into the background noise of the forest. Only then did her hackles begin to lie flat again. She was safe once more.

     With the threat of being confronted by cats behind her, the she-cat slowed to a walk, letting her paws carry her where they would as her mind wandered. It had been some time since she had come this close to other cats. Cats were her own kind, it was true, but it had been a long time since she'd had anything to do with any of them. They had only brought her misery. She had known love once, and she had believed in the inherent goodness of her kind. But one by one, the ones she'd loved had betrayed her, and now she was alone. She would walk alone for the rest of her days rather than feel that loss again.

     A dully, steady rhythm of pain pulsed through her muscles with each step. She had been alone for two leaf-falls now, and the moons alone and her endless wandering had taken their toll on her. Her pelt felt flushed with warmth and chilled with cold at the same time, and every muscle pulsed with a dull ache. Coughs rattled their way out of her chest more every day. She knew she was sick, but without the knowledge of healing herbs that other cats had, there was little she could do about it.

     A part of her wasn't sure that she even cared anymore. If she got well now, she would just get sick again some time later, or get injured, or go hungry. She felt too tired to fight back anymore. It was an effort just to keep putting one paw in front of the other – and yet, somehow, something in her made her keep pressing on. She wasn't sure if it was for better or worse, but she was too stubborn to give up entirely, even now. She would keep on walking until the day that she could no longer make her paws obey her.

     The faint gurgling sound of water slowly brought the loner out of her thoughts. She blinked, surprised to realize that her paws had led her to the edge of a ridge, which overlooked a hollow with a river running through it. She hesitated, but the harsh dryness of her throat pushed her onward. She descended down into the hollow and made her way towards the river.

     She settled into a crouch as she came to the edge of the river and began lapping up water. It was a relief for her dry throat, but the aching and the exhaustion remained even as she quenched her thirst. She closed her eyes for a moment, despair washing over her. Every step she took to ensure her own survival seemed to mean two steps back. For a few moments she was nearly overcome by hopelessness.

     When the loner opened her eyes again, she was surprised to see one of the bushes further down on the other side of river rustling wildly. Three small forms pushed their way out of the bush and towards the water. The loner stiffened as she recognized the shapes of three kittens – which meant the parents could be nearby. She crouched low to the ground, swiveling her muzzle side to side to look for any approaching cats, but she couldn't see or scent any nearby cats. The kits appeared to be alone.

     Calmer now, the loner stayed where she was, watching the kits with a wary eye. There were two she-cats, a ginger tabby and a tortoiseshell, and a little black tom. The loner couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could see them tumbling and mewling in play, batting at each other with unpracticed paws. The sight of them, especially the black tom, made her chest constrict painfully on itself. Memories of another litter of three were surfacing and bringing the pain of the past with them.

     As she watched, the kits approached a large branch that connected the two shores of the swift-moving river. The ginger tabby scrambled easily onto the branch and began making her way to the other shore. After a moment's pause, the black tom followed after her, and the tortoiseshell scrambled quickly after him. The abrupt movement of the tortoiseshell jostled the branch. For a terrifying moment, the loner was frozen in shock as she watched the kits lose their grip on the sleek bark of the branch and were sent screeching into the water. Then they disappeared under its surface.

     Horror blazed through the loner. Memories of a black kit disappearing under murky water, of three voices crying out for help she couldn’t give, seared through her mind. Her heart twisted in agony inside of her. _Tadpole..._

     “Help!” The desperate screech of a kit - a living kit, not memories of the dead - snapped the loner out of her panicked haze. While she’d been stuck in her own head, the ginger tabby had managed to snag her claws onto a tree root poking out near the water’s edge on the loner’s side, and was struggling to keep her grip. The black tom was flailing in the water further downstream, and she could see a tortoiseshell paw thrusting desperately out of the water as it rolled and crashed over her.

     Without even thinking about what she was doing, the loner took off running, racing towards the tabby kit. As she got closer she could see that the kit’s back legs were being battered by the river water as they scrabbled for a grip. Her front claws began to slip from the wet bark. But before the tabby could fall back into the water, the loner lunges forward, snapping her jaws over the tabby’s scruff and yanked her head back, swinging the kit away from the water and back over dry land. She set the kit down a few paces from the water’s edge, watching as the tabby coughed and shivered and tried to recover from her shock enough to speak.

     Once she got her voice back, the tabby gasped out, “My littermates... they’re still in there!” The loner didn’t hesitate. She spun away from the tabby and hurtled further along the riverbank, her gaze scanning the water for any signs of life.

     It didn’t take her long to spot the black tom. Her heart clenched as she saw him struggling to keep his head up as the water raged around him. Without any hesitation, the loner took a final, mighty bound and launched herself into the water. Memories of a spotted she-cat and sleek-furred hunters flashed in her mind. She kicked her paws out strongly the way they’d taught her, cutting quickly through the rushing water to reach the tom. The water pushed him under the water just as she reached him. _No. Not this time._ She ducked under the surface, using her paws to scoop the tom kit closer to her before grabbing his scruff in her jaws. The tom gasped for air as their heads broke the surface. While he struggled to cough out water, the loner turned them towards the shore, fighting the fierce pull of the river current with strong, sure strokes of her paws. Her paws finally carried her back to the safety of the shore.

      As she set the shivering tom onto the ground and coughed out water and wet fur, the loner saw the tabby she-kit bounding towards her, her eyes wide with terror. “Emberkit’s still in the water!” she wailed. The tabby seemed to have recovered from her own near-drowning experience, but her pelt was bristling with horror for her littermates. “I saw her, she’s back the way we came, she got tangled in something under the water. She’s trapped!”

      _Emberkit._ Something about the name stirred at a memory in the loner’s mind, but after a moment she pushed it back. The kits needed her help now. She glanced at tabby, instructing her in a brisk new, “Look after your brother, make sure he coughs up any water left in him.” The tabby’s eyes still blazed with fear, but she gave a small nod of assent. Determination seemed to take over as she padded up to her brother.

     While the tabby laid a comforting paw on her brother’s shoulder, the loner took off, racing along the riverbank and trying to catch a glimpse of the tortoiseshell kit. Finally she spotted the tip of a tail flailing among a tangle of branches and weeds. The mess of weeds and sticks was caught against a rock jutting out from the river, keeping it from moving with the current. Horror pulsed through the loner as she realized the tabby had been right. Emberkit had been caught by a branch and had been dragged under. Now she was trapped.

      _Hang on, Emberkit._ The loner took in a big gulp of air, then plunged under the surface. Now that she was under she could see how a couple of branches had pushed together like interlocking fangs and trapped the kit inside of them. She swam quickly to the branches, then grabbed at the branches with her claws. The current pushed hard against her, but she set her hind legs against the rock, bracing herself against it to keep from being dragged away from the kit.

     The loner scraped at the branches with her claws, trying to get a grip to pull them away from the kit, but they were lodged too firmly together. Emberkit was struggling inside of the branches, scraping at them with her claws, but her struggles were quickly growing weaker. One hind paw slipped, and the current thrust her back against the rock. Pain pulsed through her hip upon impact. For a moment, she was left flailing against the rock, but after a few moments she was able to right herself again. She took a moment to push quickly up to the surface and take a few breaths before going back under.

     This time, she grabbed one of the branches between her jaws and braced her paws against the others, pulling as hard as she could. After a brief struggle, the branch finally gave way. The loner threw it to one side, then quickly braced herself against the rock again. She pushed a few smaller sticks out of the way until her paws finally brushed against fur. Her claws hooked into the kit's pelt the moment she felt it. With a quick motion, she yanked the kit free of the branches, then snapped her jaws over her scruff and pushed off the rock to send them both towards the surface.

     Emberkit was a dead weight in the loner's jaws as the loner pushed her head above the water. Unease began to prick at the loner's pelt, but she forced herself to ignore it, focusing on reaching the other shore. Her entire pelt felt heavy with exhaustion, and her limbs screamed with protest with every stroke of her paws, but she forced herself to keep going. With a final desperate push, she finally managed to reach the shore.

     “You found her!” As the loner collapsed on the shore, shaking all over from exhaustion, she faintly heard approaching paws. The other kits bounded up to her. While the black tom hurried to Emberkit's side, the tabby came to stand before the loner, eyes bright with joy. “You saved her! You saved all of us! Oh thank you, thank you!”

     Before the loner could reply, a panicked cry came from behind her. “Emberkit's not moving!” Fear seized the loner. Forgetting her exhaustion for a moment, she pushed herself back to her paws, hobbling over to the fallen form of Emberkit. The tortoiseshell kit was laying where the loner had set her down. A quick check showed that she wasn't breathing.

     A calm sense of focus stole over the loner. Memories of the river-dwelling cats returned to her mind. They lived with the danger of water all the time, and had taught her about cats who nearly drowned, and how to help them. And now, she could help Emberkit.

     “She's taken in too much water,” the loner murmured. She whisked her tail, drawing the kits away from their littermate, then she crouched beside the tortoiseshell kit. With one paw, she flipped Emberkit onto her back, then began pressing hard against the kit's chest with her paw, pumping her chest with her paw in a steady rhythm. The kit's body twitched with each pump of her paw, but other than that, there was no response.

     Just as the loner was beginning to fear the worse, the kit suddenly gave a massive shudder. Her jaws opened and began spilling out water as she coughed and sputtered for air. The loner helped turn the kit onto her side, rubbing the kit's chest with her paw to help her cough out the rest of the water. Emberkit gave a few more coughs, then finally fluttered her eyes open and looked up at the loner. “Wha... what happened?” she rasped. “How did I get here?” Water was still dribbling from her jaws and beading on her chin fur, but the last of it seemed to have left her lungs. The loner breathed a sigh of relief.

     The black tom pressed against his sister's side, purring madly as he settled down beside her. While he snuggled in beside Emberkit, the tabby looked up at the loner with eyes bright with joy. “Wow! That was so cool! You saved her!” She tipped her head curiously, mewing, “I haven't seen you before. Are you a rogue?”

     Unease pricked at the loner's paws. She'd saved the kits because she could never let any innocent kits get hurt, but that didn't mean she was comfortable talking with cats or answering questions. She hesitated for a moment, before looking at her paws and grunting, “A loner. I travel.” 

     “That sounds really cool!” the tabby purred. “You must see so much great stuff out there!”

     “Some,” the loner mewed. She narrowed her eyes, her tone becoming harder as she demanded, “What are you three doing out here alone anyway? Don't you know better than trying to cross the river on a little stick like that?”

     Defiance sparked in the kit's eyes, and her tail shot up as she stared up at the loner. “We wanted to see our mother!” she informed the loner. “She visits us during the day, but she spends her nights in twolegplace. We wanted to see where she lives. We decided to go to twolegplace ourselves to see her – and we would have made it too, if it weren't for that dumb river.”

     The loner couldn't help the amused twitch of her whiskers. There was something very refreshing about the kit's defiance, even if she had nearly drowned for it. “Well, just be more careful next time,” she mewed. “And make sure you get your sister somewhere warm. She needs to dry off.”

     She stood, ready to head off into the forest again, but the tabby scrambled after her. “Wait!” she cried out. The loner paused, watching as the kit came to stand in front of her again. “Don't leave yet! We have to thank you for saving us!” She glanced back at her littermates, mewing, “Those two are Smokekit and Emberkit, and I'm Sparkkit. What's your name?”

     The loner hesitated. It had been so many moons since she'd said her own name – for it had been many moons since any cat had met her long enough to ask her for it. It had been many moons since she'd let any cat get that close. Fear pricked at her pelt – she considered not answering, but Sparkkit was gazing up at her with such openness and innocence in her eyes. It felt wrong to turn away from her and leave her with nothing.

     In a hoarse whisper, the loner admitted, “My name is Sasha.”

     Sparkkit perked her ears. “Nice to meet you, Sasha!” she purred. “Thank you for saving us!” She trotted over to her littermates, nudging Emberkit with one paw as she mewed, “Come on, we can still make it to twolegplace before anyone notices we've gone if we hurry!”

     Smokekit glanced at his sister, alarm sparking in his amber eyes, and Emberkit glared weakly at Sparkkit from where she lay. Before any of them could retort, however, Sasha spoke up first. “You three are in no state to travel all the way to twolegplace,” she told them in a stern mew. “Emberkit needs time to recover, and all three of you need to rest and dry off.”

     The tabby kit's lit up with surprise. Defiance quickly took its place, however, and she pinned her ears back, glaring up at Sasha. “You can't tell us what to do,” she argued. “You're not our Clanmate!”

     Sasha froze. Memories came crashing back, all of the loss and the pain of her early life screaming to the forefront of her mind. “Clanmate?” she repeated in a horse mew. “What do you mea-”

     Before Sasha could finish speaking, a yowl rang out from behind her. Suddenly cats were leaping out from the undergrowth, their hackles raised and their fangs flashing as they advanced on the loner. Sasha bristled in fear. She stepped protectively in front of the kits, shielding them even through her terror, but to her surprise Sparkkit and Smokekit broke away from her and bounded towards the newcomers. “Bouncefire! You found us!” They practically tackled a ginger tom, butting their heads against him and purring while he sniffed them desperately all over.

     “Of course I found you!” the tom, Bouncefire, responded. “Great StarClan, you're all wet! Have you been in the river?” He looked up, only for his gaze to harden with anger when he saw Sasha standing in front of Emberkit. Bouncefire took a step towards her, tail lashing and hackles bristling. “Who are you?” he demanded. “What have you done to my kits?”

     A dark gray she-cat came to stand beside Bouncefire. Her pale blue eyes were hard with anger as he hissed, “Think carefully before you answer, rogue.”

     “SkyClan doesn't take kindly to kit-thieves.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we have the first chapter of Sasha's Calling. ^^ And we're starting off rough. Poor Sasha. It's been just under two years since the Clans left the forest, and since her kits left her for good. Her son Hawkfrost has been dead for moons, though luckily she doesn't know that, or what path he took, but she's still alone with no one left who cares about her.
> 
> And we see the big reveal - Sasha has found herself in SkyClan territory! I never intended to explore what was going on with SkyClan during the main events of EOTW, but when the idea for this story came to me, I realized it could be really cool to explore SkyClan's story after the events of SkyClan and the stranger. I like the plot of AVOS, but I wish they'd done a bit more with how unique SkyClan's setup is and how different they are from the other Clans, while still being morally the same. I decided I would do that in my fic instead. SkyClan obviously doesn't leave the gorge and join the other Clans in my 'verse, as we've seen in the rest of EOTW, and I always thought exploring SkyClan's dynamic as a single Clan in the gorge was what made them interesting.
> 
> We'll get to see more of SkyClan and their current status in the next chapter - though we already get a good look at three of their youngest members in this chapter. ^^ I was definitely going with a "fire" theme with their names, since they're Bouncefire's kits and have fire-related colors (ginger and black), and since SkyClan idolizes Firestar a lot and his name is honored. We'll see who's on the rest of the patrol, and what else SkyClan is up to these days, next chapter. ^^
> 
> I don't know when I'll get the next chapter done. Like I said, I want to write more of my original story before working on this again, so we'll have to see. Until then, I hope you enjoy what I've already written. ^^


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha learns of the fifth Clan.

Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War  
Novella 5: Sasha's Calling  
Chapter One

      _SkyClan?_ Shock blazed through every hair on Sasha's pelt. _There's_ another _Clan?_

     As she stared in dumb silence at the cats in front of her, they seemed to get impatient. “What are you doing with these kits?” a torbie tom hissed. His worried gaze flitted to Emberkit, who was still lying on the ground behind Sasha, looking at the cats around her with wide eyes. Sasha was surprised to see her shift a little closer to her leg, as though looking to Sasha for protection from the anger of the older cats.

     Sasha's tail was trembling with anxiety, but she forced herself to look the tom straight in the eyes as she mewed, “I haven't done anything to them. Emberkit will be fine, she just needs rest.”

     Bouncefire opened his jaws as if to argue, but Smokekit cut him off. “We fell in the river. Sparkkit found a fallen branch we could cross the river on, but we fell, and the river swept us away.” Sparkkit glared at her brother, sticking her tongue out at him, but Smokekit ignored her. “But Sasha found us, and she saved us!”

     “He's right,” Sparkkit mewed, though she still threw a glare at her brother. “Emberkit got stuck in some branches, and she wasn't breathing when Sasha pulled her out, but she pushed on her with her paw a lot and suddenly she started breathing again!”

     Surprise lit up in Bouncefire's eyes, and a few of the other cats exchanged glances, their hackles lowering. “There's no reason for the kits to lie,” a gray tabby murmured thoughtfully.

     Sparkkit turned her glare on the tabby. “Of course we're not lying!” she snapped.

     Bouncefire hesitated, then took a step back, his hackles lowering. “If that's true, then thank you for saving my kits,” he said in a gruff, but sincere, mew. He seemed almost embarrassed over his initial hasty aggression.

     Sasha gave a small nod, her soaked pelt bristling uncomfortably. “It was nothing,” she murmured.

     A black tom stepped forward, standing on Bouncefire's other side. He was a scruffy, scrawny-looking sort of tom, but there was a kindness to his eyes as he looked at Sasha. “I'm sorry we were so quick to accuse you,” he mewed. “Ebonyclaw and Bouncefire's kits went missing earlier this morning, and we've all been worried about them, especially with how cold it's been getting out here.”

     “Any cat would worry over their kits,” Sasha said with a shrug. She tried to hide the uneasy bristling of her pelt, though luckily most of it was still weighed down by water from the river. Some of her old pride sparked back to life – she kept her head held high and her gaze met evenly with Shrewtooth's, even though her tail trembled with anxiety. “I can't blame you for that.”

     The tom gave a small nod. “Thank you, and thank you for helping to save our kits.” He lifted his chin. “I'm Shrewtooth, deputy of SkyClan, and these are my Clanmates.” Shrewtooth gestured to each cat in turn as he mewed, “Plumwillow, Sandyfoot, Creekfeather, Waspwhisker, Brindlestorm, and Bouncefire, and you've already met the kits, of course.” He tipped his head curiously, mewing, “Who are you?”

     “Sasha.” Her tail twitched. She wasn't normally a fearful cat, but it had been so long since she'd been around other cats, especially defensive cats trying to protect their kits, that she couldn't help the anxiety pricking at her pelt. “I'm just a loner, just passing through. I'm no threat to your kits, or your warriors,” she hastened to explain.

     Plumwillow and Brindlestorm narrowed their eyes, looking untrusting of the she-cat's claim. Shrewtooth, on the other hand, gave a surprised mew. “You know about warriors?” he asked the loner.

     Sasha flinched. Inwardly, she cursed her slip. She'd wanted to get out of Clan territory as fast as she could – but now, the curious looks the Clan cats were giving her told her that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Uncomfortably, she admitted, “I've met Clan cats before. But that was a long time ago.”

     “SkyClan cats?” Waspwhisker asked, tipping his head curiously.

     When Sasha shook her head, Sandyfoot's eyes lit up. “Then you must have met the other Clans!” Interest suddenly blazed in every cats' eyes. “We haven't heard anything about them in seasons!”

     A few cats moved in towards Sasha, clearly curious, but Sasha took a few hasty steps back. It had been a long time since she'd been around this many cats, and her pelt was bristling with discomfort, her lip curled in threat. Shrewtooth warned his Clanmates back with a quick lash of his tail. After a moment, he turned back to Sasha. “I think our leader will want to speak with you,” he told her. “He'll want to hear about the other Clans – and of course thank you for saving our kits. You should come with us back to our camp.”

     Alarm blazed through Sasha's pelt. “I don't think that's...”

     “We don't want to go back to camp!” Sparkkit yelped, cutting the loner off. “We want to go see twolegplace!”

     Bouncefire flattened his ears back, looking outraged. “The only place you're going is straight home to the nursery, and that's final,” he growled. Sparkkit glared defiantly up at her father, but Bouncefire didn't back down. “You've caused enough trouble today – you three could've gotten yourselves killed!”

     “And Emberkit needs to rest,” Smokekit added with a glance towards his sister. Emberkit had pushed up to sitting now, but there was a glaze to her eyes, and she was still looking a bit woozy. Unconsciously, Sasha whisked her tail protectively around the drowsy kit. Smokekit turned back to Sasha, looking up at her with pleading amber eyes. “You'll come back to camp with us, won't you?” he mewed. “You helped us, you should come back with us and meet our Clan.”

     Sasha hesitated – but with the black tom-kit looking up at her, so similar and yet different from another black kit from her memory, she suddenly couldn't bring herself to say no. “I... I guess I'll come,” she murmured.

     “I'm glad to hear it,” Shrewtooth mewed. He gestured to his patrol with a sharp flick of his tail. In an instant, cats began moving, falling in behind Shrewtooth and moving in to pick up the kits.

     Bouncefire scooped up a protesting Sparkkit in his jaws, and Sandyfoot picked up Smokekit. Sasha moved to pick up Emberkit, only to be cut off by Waspwhisker. “I've got her,” the tom murmured. There was a gentleness to the tom's expression, but also glint of suspicion as he regarded Sasha. Clearly he didn't entirely trust a loner he didn't know to carry his Clanmate's kit. She took a step back, allowing Waspwhisker to grasp Emberkit's scruff gently between his teeth and lift her up into the air. With all of the kits secured, the patrol set off, Plumwillow and Creekfeather falling in on either side of Sasha and keeping her to the middle of the group.

     Sasha's mind was racing as she walked beside the SkyClan cats. She'd thought she'd seen the last of the Clans two leafbares ago, when the two cats who mattered most to her had left her behind for the last time. Her breath caught. _My kits..._ Not a day had gone by without her wondering how Hawkfrost and Mothwing were, whether they had reached their new home with the Clans, whether they were happy, whether they were safe. She missed them with all of her heart, but they had made their choice, and she had tried to bury that pain along with the memory of the Clans and what they'd done to her life. But now this SkyClan was bringing it all back up again.

     Her turbulent thoughts battered around inside of her head as she followed the patrol through their territory, but she was soon distracted by the effort of keeping up with the warriors. Panic and determination to save the kits had given her the rush of energy needed to swim to their aid – but now, exhaustion was crashing over her like a wave. Her entire body was shivering wildly from the cold bite of the leaf-fall air against her soaked pelt. Sharp pain pulsed through the hip that had been slammed against the rock in the river, and that leg grew stiffer with every step. Exhaustion from swimming to save the kits mixed with the exhaustion from her illness, and her head swam with fever and weariness, leaving her a shaking, barely-conscious mess that stumbled blindly along behind the Clan cats.

     The touch of another pelt beside her own nearly yanked her out of her thoughts and made her jump. Sasha looked over to see Waspwhisker walking beside her, pressing his own, thick pelt against hers. Instinctively, she leaned into the touch, shivering as she felt the warmth of his pelt against her own wet fur. With a kit in his jaws, Waspwhisker didn't speak, but there was kindness in his eyes as he glanced at Sasha. She hesitated, then closed her eyes and allowed herself to lean her weight more against Waspwhisker as he helped lead her forward.

     The patrol followed the river as it wove through the forest. As it stretched on, the ridges overlooking the river grew sharper and taller, until the patrol was walking along the floor of a vast gorge. Sasha looked curiously up at the vast, jagged cliff faces that reached up above the river and jutted into the sky. The kits had long since stopped struggling, even Sparkkit, and had fallen asleep in the jaws of their Clanmates.

     Finally, after clambering over some rocks and descending further into the gorge, the patrol came into a wider hollow below the jutting cliffs. Sasha recognized it almost at once as the camp of a Clan. Though the sheer cliff faces surrounding the hollow were unlike any camp she'd ever seen, she could see an organization to the caves scattered among the cliffs, which clearly served as dens, and the river that wove through the floor of the gorge gave out a soothing murmuring sound that reminded her of RiverClan's camp. Cats were scattered all along the rocks, sharing tongues with Clanmates and lounging on the stones. They looked up when the patrol entered the camp.

     “You found them!” The patrol was instantly swarmed by warriors. Cats were bounding across the rocks all around the clearing, rushing to reach their returning Clanmates and greet them with rubbing muzzles and purrs. The kits were quickly swept up in the crush of relieved Clanmates nosing them and purring.

     A light brown elder with white legs came to the front of the crowd, sweeping the kits towards her with her tail. “Ebonyclaw's still on patrol looking for these little troublemakers,” she rasped, a merry gleam in her yellow eyes. “But I'll make sure they get settled and dry in the nursery until she gets back.” She and Bouncefire worked together to shepherd the kits towards one of the lower caves on the cliff.

     “And I'll go find Ebonyclaw's patrol and tell her that that kits are safe,” Shrewtooth decided. He turned to Waspwhisker, then gestured to Sasha with his tail, mewing, “Look after her while I'm gone,” When Waspwhisker nodded, Shrewtooth mewed to Sasha, “I'm going back into the forest, but I should be back soon. Feel free to help yourself to some prey while you're here, and check in with our medicine cat if you need to. Our leader should be able to speak with you soon.” He turned to Brindlestorm, ordering, “Go get your father and tell him what happened.”

     The large tortoiseshell nodded, then turned and bounded away. Sasha was surprised to see how effortlessly the she-cat leaped and clambered up the cliffs, until she reached one of the higher caves and slipped inside. Shrewtooth turned back to Sasha once she was gone. “I'll be back soon,” he repeated. “Just make yourself at home while you're here. You have our thanks for saving our kits.” With a final friendly flick of his tail, the black tom turned and bounded away, leaping up a series of rocks near one side of the gorge and out into the forest beyond.

     Waspwhisker nudged Sasha's shoulder with his paw. “Come on,” he murmured. “I'll show you where the fresh-kill pile is. You look like you need it.” Sasha nodded. With the kits in the nursery, the crowd's attention had finally turned to the newcomer in their midst. Unease prickled through Sasha's pelt at how their gazes fell curiously on her. She shifted a little closer to Waspwhisker, letting the larger tom lead her towards a pile of prey at the base of some larger rocks.

     She quickly picked a squirrel off of the pile and began digging in. Her pelt was drier now, and the warmth of Waspwhisker's pelt kept her from feeling too chilled, but her exhaustion and nausea were still in full force. The taste of squirrel felt sour on her tongue, but she forced herself to keep eating, more to have something to focus on other than the staring Clan cats than anything.

     The sound of pebbles shifting above her head drew Sasha's attention away from her meal. Brindlestorm had emerged from the cave on the cliff, and following behind her was a dark ginger tom. It was immediately obvious to see that the two were kin. They had the same large build and strong frame, the same ginger from the tom's pelt was shot throughout Brindlestorm's tortoiseshell pelt, and her eyes were a darker shade of his green. The she-cat padded away to join a group of warriors, but the tom continued towards the fresh-kill pile, his tail and head held high.

     Waspwhisker dipped his head respectfully to the tom as he came to stand in front of him. “Sasha, this is our leader, Sharpstar,” he told the loner.

     Unease pricked at Sasha's pelt as the leader turned his gaze towards her. There was a hardness in the way Sharpstar held himself, a sharpness to the gleam in his eyes, that told Sasha he was not a cat to be trifled with. Though anxiety was fluttering in her chest, she forced herself to hold her head high, meeting Sharpstar's even gaze with her own.

     “Brindlestorm told me what happened,” Sharpstar rumbled by way of greeting. “Is it true that you saved the kits?”

     Sasha had to take a few moments to find her voice. “I did,” she mewed, her words coming out surprisingly strong and even.

     “Then I thank you for that,” the leader mewed. Though his tone was still gruff, there was a softness in his gaze when he spoke of the kits that told Sasha he was sincere. “And for that, you're welcome in our camp.” Curiosity gleamed in his eyes for a moment. “My daughter also informed me that you've encountered the other Clans?”

     “I have,” Sasha answered. “But it's been several moons since I've seen them.”

     Sharpstar nodded thoughtfully. After a moment, he gave a decisive flick of his tail. “My daughter has been gathering the Clan's senior warriors, and some of our earliest members,” he informed Sasha. “They're waiting for us beside the Rockpile – they'll want to hear what you can tell us about the other Clans. Follow me.” He started off towards a large pile of boulders near the base of the cliff. After a moment of hesitation, Sasha followed him.

     A group of warriors and elders were waiting on one side of a large pile of boulders, hidden from sight from the rest of the Clan by some of the rocks. Sharpstar settled himself onto one of the boulders, then waved his tail for Sasha to sit a few paces away, facing the rest of the warriors. “Sasha, I would like you to meet Patchfoot, Petalnose, Cherrytail, Sageleaf, and Mintfur,” he mewed. “Patchfoot and Petalnose were some of our first warriors, and Cherrytail, Safeleaf, and Mintfur were all with the Clan when it was first formed.”

     “When it was first formed?” Sasha repeated, tipping her head curiously. Her thoughts were sluggish from weariness and fever, and she was just as confused as when she'd first heard Plumwillow mention SkyClan. “I thought the Clans were several generations old.”

     Sharpstar exchanged a glance with Cherrytail. “They are, and SkyClan was at first,” he rumbled. “When the Clans were first formed, SkyClan was formed as one of the original five alongside ThunderClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan, and WindClan. They lived in the forest beside ThunderClan, using their strong legs to jump and catch birds among the trees. But then twolegs came and destroyed their territory, and SkyClan was forced to leave the forest.”

     The hair along Sasha's back began to stand on end. “That's what happened to the rest of the Clans,” she breathed. Worried murmurs broke out at her words. “The last time I saw them, the twolegs had destroyed all of their territories to build a new thunderpath. They all left together to find a new home, following some sign from StarClan.” _And my children went with them,_ she thought, though she didn't speak the words aloud. Her family's situation was none of SkyClan's business.

     Worry was glowing in the eyes of all of the warriors, and Sasha could hear concern in their mews as they whispered to each other. “What about a cat named Firestar?” Petalnose rasped. Hope was glowing in the pale she-cat's eyes. “And his mate, Sandstorm. Were they alright when you saw them?”

     Unease pricked at Sasha's pelt at the mention of Firestar. The ginger tom was a noble warrior and leader, but he had seen through her much too easily – and his history with the father of her kits was something she could never forget. “They were both fine when I saw them last, if a little underfed,” she told the SkyClan cats. “Their daughter Leafpaw was training to be ThunderClan's next medicine cat, and from what I hear her sister Squirrelpaw was doing a lot to help her Clan find a new home.”

     Surprise lit in Sharpstar's eyes. “They didn't have kits the last time we saw them,” he mused. He exchanged a glance with Cherrytail, mewing, “Do you think...?”

     “It's possible,” Cherrytail purred. At Sasha's confused glance, she explained, “Our first leader was a she-cat named Leafstar. SkyClan came here to the gorge after they left the forest, but trouble with rats made them disband. Firestar and Sandstorm came here from their forest to help rebuild SkyClan from the cats who still lived here. Leafdapple was one of the rogues they recruited to the Clan, but a sign from StarClan showed that she was meant to be our leader. Firestar founded our Clan and saved us from the rats' leader, and he was Leafstar's friend, he was there when she earned her nine lives. It's possible that his daughter is named after her.”

     “I hope that she is,” Patchfoot rasped. “Any kit of Firestar's is bound to be a fine cat, and worthy of carrying Leafstar's legacy.” Grief glowed in the elder's eyes as he spoke of his former leader. Sasha didn't need to ask to know that this Leafstar was dead.

     Sharpstar dipped his head. “It's unfortunate to learn that the Clans had to flee from their home,” he rumbled. “We may not live beside the other Clans anymore, but we are still connected to them through our code, and through our warrior ancestors. I can only hope that Firestar and Sandstorm are safe, wherever they are, and that they have found the home they need for their Clans.”

     After a brief pause, he turned his gaze to Sasha once more. “I thank you for bringing us this news about the other Clans,” he told her. “And for saving our kits. You're welcome to stay and see our medicine cat, and have more prey before you go – or you may stay longer, so long as you hunt while you're here.”

     “Thank you, but no thank you, Sharpstar,” Sasha rasped in a hasty mew. Being surrounded by so many cats looking at her already had her uneasy – but the idea of staying longer in a Clan camp made her fur stand on end. “I'm grateful, but I've seen enough of the Clans to last me a lifetime. I'm better off on my own.”

     Surprise glowed in Sharpstar's eyes, and for a moment, there was a gleam of suspicion there. But after a moment he simply shrugged. “Very well. I won't force you to stay, if that's what you want. The thanks and well wishes of the Clan go with you.”

     “Thank you,” Sasha murmured. Once Sharpstar gave an approving nod, she turned and began padding away, hobbling to the rocks that led to the way out of camp. For the briefest moment, she hesitated. Something deep inside of her mourned at the loss of the first cats she'd spoken to in moons, the first cats to want anything to do with her. But determination quickly hardened in her gut. The Clans and their code had hurt her enough already. It was time to move on. With a final, decisive flick of her tail, she clambered painfully up the rocks and into the forest beyond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got this chapter done a little faster than I meant to, but my file for my original story was acting up, so I decided to work on this instead. :P Besides, I was eager to get to Sasha's reaction to meeting SkyClan.
> 
> So here we get to see Sasha meeting more SkyClan cats and visiting their camp. We also learn that Leafstar has since died and that Sharpclaw has become Sharpstar, the new leader of SkyClan, with Shrewtooth as his deputy. It'll be explained more later, but I always wanted to see Sharpclaw get the chance to lead SkyClan, and since certain events have happened in canon, I figured it would be nice to give him the opportunity to be leader in my fic - and it's always nice to see a new leader come to power. I might've been slightly biased when I made Shrewtooth deputy, as he's my favorite SkyClan cat, but oh well, I think he's a good pick for deputy. :P
> 
> We also learn that Brindlestorm is Sharpstar's daughter. Since nothing after SkyClan and the Stranger is canon for EOTW for SkyClan's timeline, Cherrytail's kits in the canon series don't exist in EOTW. Instead, Brindlestorm and her brother Larchleaf who you can find in the allegiances are the kits that Cherrytail was expecting at the end of SkyClan and the stranger. ^^
> 
> Brindlestorm gets her tortoiseshell-and-white pelt from her mother, though she has far less white on her pelt than Cherrytail, but she gets the darkness of her pelt, her large size, and her green eyes from her father. Larchleaf gets his white pelt and pointed pattern from his mother, as well as his pale green eyes and lithe build, while the ginger shade of his points comes from his father. I'm pretty happy with their names and descriptions as the kits of Sharpstar and Cherrytail. ^^
> 
> A few of the warrior names are different from canon since they weren't revealed until after SatS, such as Sageleaf and Sandyfoot, as well as Leafstar's kits, since nothing after SatS is canon to my verse. Just felt like explaining why some of the names were different - Sageleaf is Mintfur's brother, and the others are the apprentices and kits seen in SatS. And Egg is still in the Clan, because I always felt bad that everyone seemed to forget Egg. :P
> 
> Anyway, I think that's everything I wanted to cover, I sort of rambled on for a while there, but oh well. Dunno when the next chapter will be done, but I hope to get more of my original project done before I work on it.


	4. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Days later, Sasha is only feeling worse...

Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War  
Novella 5: Sasha's Calling  
Chapter Three

     Days might have passed, or half a moon, or endless moons, since Sasha had left SkyClan behind. She could no longer count the passage of days. Her fevered mind could no longer perceive whether hours, or days, were being left behind her as she trudged through the forest. Snow had come early that season – the snow and ice bit into Sasha's pelt and clung to her legs and belly while she tried to trudge a path forward.

     The cold, and the lack of prey to eat, had made her illness far worse in the days since leaving SkyClan. She could no longer feel her legs – they were numb through to the bone from the cold. All she could feel was an ache spreading throughout her pelt, and the desperate clutching of her empty belly. Her strength had all but deserted her.

     Snowflakes and wind swirled together in front of her eyes as she hobbled painfully forward. Her vision was starting to blur. She tried to keep putting one paw in front of the other, but her paws were beginning to shake so badly that she could no longer set them straight before her. She tried to shake her head to clear it, only to be struck by a fierce, blazing pain throbbing in her head. Everything was a blur. She no longer knew where she was, or where she was going, or what she was doing. All she knew was that she was cold, and that she was in pain.

     Sasha tried to take another step forward, but her legs were shaking too badly to support her any longer. Her chest fell forward onto the snow, and before she could right herself, her hips collapsed and  
joined the rest of her on the ground. Time seemed to slow to a halt. The cold of the snow bit into her pelt like tiny claws, but she couldn't bring herself to move. Every muscle felt too heavy to use. Her head was swimming with fever, and her pelt was shaking all over. Exhaustion took over. She gave a few weak blinks, then gave a small sigh, and closed her eyes.

     The loner flitted in and out of dreams once her eyes were closed. She didn't know how long she slept, or how long she struggled between wakefulness and rest. A small voice inside her head was screeching, warning Sasha not to let herself sleep, not now, or she might never wake up again. But the fever-riddled loner was too exhausted to fight any longer. So she stayed where she lay, and let her sleepy and sluggish brain lead her where it would.

     “Over there!” Sasha's drowsy mind barely took notice of the distant cry. It was only when paws thumped against the snow nearer and nearer to her, and a mew sounded just above her head, that she was pulled out of her half-sleeping state. “Come over here, quick! There's a cat in the snow!” The voice drew nearer, warmth breath stirring against Sasha's ear. “Are you okay?”

     She was just barely aware of the sound of more paws approaching. Her eyelids fluttered open – she could only just make out the shape of a dark brown tabby standing over her, worry glowing in his eyes. Something like hope fluttered in her chest. “Tigerstar?” she murmured. She tried to reach out to the tom, but her body refused to obey her. _Has he come for me at last?_ her fevered mind wondered. _Will we be together now?_

     “You're going to be alright,” the tom informed her. “Just stay still. We'll help you.” Sasha gave a small groan. Something was wrong. His voice was too high, he was too small and scruffy to be her Tigerstar. With eyes bleary with fever, she finally noticed the dark green collar that sat around the tom's throat. Her heart sank. Her Tigerstar would never have lowered himself to the level of a kittypet by wearing a collar. It wasn't him.

     She closed her eyes, trying to turn her head away from the kittypet, but he circled around to face her. “Listen, my name is Rufuspaw, and my Clanmates are coming this way now,” he informed her. The tom, who sounded like he couldn't be much older than six moons, spoke in a mew high with fear, as thought he doubted his own soothing words. “Don't worry, everything's going to be okay.”

     More paws thumped nearby, and suddenly there were even more cats surrounding her. “She's barely conscious,” a different voice noted. It was a she-cat this time, older than Rufuspaw. A paw brushed briefly against Sasha's forehead. “She's got a really bad fever – she must've passed out.”

     “Look at how thin she is!” It was another she-cat, younger this time, her mew heavy with shock. “StarClan above, how can a cat get this bad?”

     “Rogues and loners like this cat don't have anyone to help look after them, Kayleepaw,” another tom, older this time, explained. “This is what can happen sometimes. That's why I live with twolegs – I always have someone to look after me.” Sasha barely heard the last of the tom's words. She was beginning to fade in and out, her mind slipping back into sleep. All of the sensations around her were beginning to melt away.

     The last thing she felt was a muzzle against her pelt, and the surprised mew of the older she-cat. “Wait. I think I know her scent...”

     Then Sasha was pulled back into the embrace of sleep, and the mews of the other cats were lost to her entirely.

**SCENEBREAK**

     The first thing Sasha felt when she awoke was that soft moss had replaced the snow underneath her. She cracked her eyes open, trying to fight through her groggy haze to figure out where she was. Though her mind swirled with confusion, she was awake enough to realize that her body felt a lot better than when she had drifted off in the snow. The terrible heat and pounding her head seemed to have lessened. Even the aching throughout her pelt no longer hurt as much as it had before – though her throat felt raw and scraped.

     As her vision cleared, Sasha finally began to take in her surroundings properly. She was laying on a moss-and-feather nest inside a small cave. The walls of the cave were dotted with indents, where various leaves and berries were stored in meticulous order. A pool of water lay in the indent of the cave floor a few paces away from her nest, and there was another nest further back in the cave. Golden light spilled into the den from outside. The whole setup seemed very familiar to Sasha, but with her muddled head she couldn't place where she'd seen it before.

     “Oh good, you're awake.” Sasha nearly jumped at the mew that sounded behind her. She turned to see a she-cat standing in the mouth of the den, cast into shadow by the light of the setting sun behind her. There was a calm friendliness to the she-cat's voice. “I was beginning to worry that we'd lost you.”

     Sasha lifted her head, only for a groan to escape her as her vision swayed in front of her eyes. “Where am I?” she rasped, the words scraping past her throat like claws.

     A soft purr came from the direction of the she-cat. “You're safe in the SkyClan medicine den,” she informed Sasha. “Some of our warriors found you just inside of our territory nearly frozen to death. They saved your life by bringing you here.” Sasha's ears shot back in surprise. She'd meant to leave Clan territory – she hadn't realized she'd stumbled back into it.

     Her mind flashed back to the moment she'd thought the dark tabby apprentice was Tigerstar. Shame flooded through her as her mind finally cleared enough to remember the truth – Tigerstar had been a monster and a traitor, who tried to destroy any cat he saw as lesser. He didn't deserve to have anyone miss him, or love him, the way that Sasha did. And yet, she couldn't stop her heart from aching for him, even now. She couldn't escape her love for him even after how much it had taken from her.

     While her mind swam with dark thoughts of her former mate, the other she-cat stepped into the den, setting down a bundle of leaves at her paws. “It's nice to meet you properly this time, Sasha,” she purred. “I'm Frecklewish, the medicine cat of SkyClan.”

     Sasha bristled with surprise at the sight of the she-cat. The shock was enough to break her out of her thoughts of Tigerstar. “You're a medicine cat?” she repeated. Her gaze fell to Frecklewish's neck – or more specifically, what hung around it. “But you're a kittypet!”

     Frecklewish glanced down at the teal collar which hung around her neck, then brought her amused gaze back to Sasha. “Yes, I'm a kittypet,” she agreed. “But I'm also a medicine cat.” Without looking the least bit concerned, she carried the leaves she'd brought into the den over to where the other herbs were stored. She began sorting her leaves into various crevices in the wall without so much as looking back at Sasha.

     “Sharpstar told me you've met the other Clans,” she continued while Sasha stared at her in dumb silence. “I've never met them myself, and Firestar and Sandstorm were long gone by the time I joined SkyClan, but I've heard about them. Apparently, they don't have the most... charitable view of outsiders, especially kittypets. But SkyClan is different.”

     Though the fever had abated somewhat, Sasha's mind was still groggy with confusion. “But how can you be a kittypet and a Clan cat at the same time?” she rasped. “No Clan I've ever known would let their cats live in two places at once, or give their loyalty to twolegs as well as their Clanmates.” She couldn't help the note of bitterness that entered her mew. She could remember all too well the heartbreak that had been caused in her life by the Clans' insistence on looking down on kittypets.

     Frecklewish finally looked back at Sasha. Amusement and sympathy were mixed together in her brown eyes as she regarded the sickly loner. “We're not like the other Clans,” she mewed simply. “Well, in some ways we are, and we honor the same code and ancestors, but in many ways we aren't.”

     She settled comfortably onto her haunches, sweeping her tail around her paws as she addressed Sasha. “SkyClan has what are known as daylight members – daylight warriors and apprentices, and one daylight medicine cat, as you can see. We live as SkyClan cats during the day, fulfilling all of the usual duties for our Clan, then return to live with our twolegs as kittypets by night. It's a system we've had for seasons, ever since Firestar and Sandstorm left us. Our first leader Leafstar was the one who thought of it, and my mentor Echosong fought for me to be allowed to train as a medicine cat even though I'm a kittypet.” Grief glowed in the she-cat's eyes for a moment – Sasha guessed that her mentor must be gone. Then she gave her head a quick shake. “But all of that was seasons ago.”

     “And your Clanmates are okay with that?” Sasha asked. She couldn't help but be curious about this Clan that didn't seem to share the prejudice and sense of superiority that the other Clans had. It sounded so different from ShadowClan and even RiverClan as she had known them. “They just let you go back and forth?”

     The spotted tabby shrugged. “There were arguments about it at first, to be sure,” she mewed. “And cats definitely got their tails in a twist about it for a long time after the decision was made – the odd cat still does sometimes. But for the most part cats are used to it now. The daylight cats have been a part of our Clan for seasons now, and we've proven our loyalty and our worth to the Clan again and again. A cat's loyalty is decided by their actions, not where they come from.”

     For a moment, Frecklewish turned back to her herb stores, then left her stores behind and began padding towards Sasha. The medicine cat held a bundle of leaves and purple berries in her jaws. “Here,” she mewed, pushing the herbs towards Sasha with one paw. “Sorrel and juniper berries – eat up.” Sasha hesitated, then lowered her muzzle and began obediently chewing the leaves between her teeth.

     “I gave you some feverfew and borage to bring your fever down as soon as Ebonyclaw and the others brought you in,” she explained as Sasha ate up the herbs. “Now that your fever's down, though, the sorrel and juniper should help bring up your strength and sharpen your appetite. You'll need to put some weight on if you're going to have a chance of beating off this fever for good, and I know fever-ache can affect the appetite, which is probably how you've gotten as thin as you have.”

     “Fever-ache?” Sasha repeated over a mouthful of berries. While the sorrel leaves had tasted as foul as most plants did, the juniper berries weren't bad, she decided. Now that her head was starting to feel clearer, she wasn't as anxious as she had been, especially with Frecklewish being as friendly as she was. The loner could feel herself relaxing for the first time in seasons as she fell into easy conversation with another cat. It was the first time in a very long time that Sasha had felt like a real cat, not just a husk of a cat trying to get through life without being noticed.

     “It's what you're sick with,” Frecklewish explained. “It's like a cold, but it makes your body ache, and it can be much more deadly if left untreated. You're lucky Ebonyclaw and the other kittypets found you when they did – you wouldn't have lasted much longer without treatment.”

     Sasha tipped her head. “Ebonyclaw... that name sounds familiar,” she mused.

     “It should,” Frecklewish purred. “Those were her kits you saved a few days ago. She recognized your scent on their pelts when she found you in the snow.” Sasha felt a flash of surprise. She hadn't had the chance to meet Bouncefire's mate when she'd saved their kits, though she'd heard the queen's name mentioned. “Ebonyclaw is one of our daylight warriors. She lives in camp during the day, and returns to her house folk at night like me, though she's spent more time in camp since her kits were born.”

     The medicine cat gave an exasperated shake of her head. “Normally Bouncefire and Tinycloud help look after the kits while she's out of camp, but somehow those little troublemakers managed to slip out of camp while nobody was looking that day,” she explained. “Thank StarClan you were there to save them.” Warmth glowed in her eyes as she looked at the loner.

     Sasha ducked her head, embarrassed by the praise. “I was just trying to help,” she mewed. “Any decent cat would have done it.”

     “Don't sell yourself short,” Frecklewish purred. “You saved their lives – that's not something to just be brushed aside. I know Ebonyclaw wants to thank you herself, and Sharpstar mentioned he wanted to speak with you again.”

     For a moment, unease pricked at Sasha's pelt. She had almost forgotten that being in SkyClan's camp again meant she'd have to deal with all of the other SkyClan cats now, Sharpstar included. “He does?”

     Frecklewish nodded. “Yes. He actually asked me to let him know once you were awake enough to talk – do you mind if I go fetch him now?”

     Part of Sasha wanted to hesitate longer. Frecklewish was a nice cat, but Sharpstar had seemed stern, and she still wasn't strong enough to run away if things got too complicated with the Clan cats. But after a moment, she gave a small nod. “Very well,” she murmured. She was going to have to face the tom sooner or later, and as uneasy as she felt around Clan cats, it would hardly be fair not to thank the leader for taking her in and letting her be treated.

     Frecklewish dipped her head to the she-cat, then turned and padded out of the den. A few moments later, she reappeared in the den, followed by five cats, Sharpstar and Shrewtooth among them. Sasha scrambled back to make room, surprised at how many cats were in the den now. The three unfamiliar cats all bore sleek pelts that spoke of a soft life, and had collars hanging around their necks.

     “You've met Sharpstar and Shrewtooth, of course,” the medicine cat mewed. The toms both dipped their heads to Sasha, which she returned uneasily. Frecklewish gestured to the other three cats in turn, explaining, “These three are Erik, Cassia, and Lola. They're kittypets, but they visit the gorge sometimes and hunt with us, though not enough to be considered daylight warriors. They were coming to the gorge with Ebonyclaw when you were found.”

     “We just wanted to make sure you were alright before we headed to our dens for the night,” the ginger-and-white she-cat, Cassia, mewed. Concern was glowing in her eyes as she looked over Sasha, but after a few moments, relief flooded there instead. “You seem a lot better now, though.”

     The loner dipped her head. “I am, thank you.” Sasha couldn't help but stare between the three kittypets. It was still so strange to her to see kittypets welcomed so freely into a Clan camp, and being allowed to mingle with Clan warriors without having to join the Clan themselves. “Thank you for dragging me out of the snow.”

     Cassia just gave a friendly purr, while Erik dipped his head politely. “Of course,” the skinny tom rumbled. Sasha recognized his voice as one of the cats who had spoken before she'd passed out. “Warriors or not, none of us would ever leave a cat to die.”

     Lola turned to Sharpstar. “We need to get back to our house folk now,” she informed the leader. “They'll be worried about us. But thank you for letting us stay until Sasha woke up.”

     “Of course,” Sharpstar rumbled. “Thank you again for helping to carry her to our camp. May StarClan light your path.” With a final glance at the loner, the three kittypets turned and padded out of the den. Frecklewish went back to sorting her herbs, leaving Sasha alone with the two toms.

     Sharpstar looked over the loner with a critical eye. “You're lucky our kittypet allies found you in time,” he commented bluntly. “Otherwise you would be dead right now.” Shrewtooth cast a disapproving glance at Sharpstar, then turned his gaze back to Sasha, sympathy glowing in his yellow-green eyes.

     Embarrassment flooded through Sasha, but she forced herself to look up and meet Sharpstar's eyes. “You're right,” she admitted in a clear mew. “And for that, I thank you. I owe your Clan my life.”

     “And we owe you for the lives of Ebonyclaw's kits,” Shrewtooth returned with a warm purr. “It's not about owing. No good cat could have left you to die in the snow.”

     Sharpstar gave a brief lash of his tail. “I would like to extend you the same offer I gave before,” he mewed in a gruff tone. Suspicion still glittered in his eyes as he regarded Sasha, but he sounded sincere enough as he mewed, “You're too weak to hunt for yourself right now, and I'm not about to turn you out of camp when you can't look after yourself, especially after what you did for our kits. You may stay with our Clan as long as it takes for you to recover – or longer, as long as you hunt for the Clan once you're well enough.” A challenge glittered in his eyes for a moment as he added, “Or have you still seen enough of Clans and the warrior code for one life?”

     Sasha hesitated. All of the painful memories of her past were starting to resurface now that she was with a Clan again. She knew all too well the pain their code could cause others, and how the demands of loyalty and looking down on others could turn them against each other. But she could remember too the kindness some Clan cats had shown her, and the sense of companionship she'd felt when walking among truly loyal warriors. As little as she wanted to reopen old wounds, perhaps it would be alright to just take some time to heal and rest among Clan cats. And right now, it wasn't as if she had much choice. She would die if she tried to go it alone right now – it was as simple as that.

     “Very well,” she finally mewed. “I will stay with SkyClan until I am well enough to travel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said it might be a while for this chapter, but whatever, I felt like working on it. :P I was put in a really strong SkyClan mood lately by some videos I was watching and some discussions I was having with other fans, so I was in a really strong mood to work on this novella more.
> 
> The ache-fever that Sasha has is meant to be the flu. :P She let it go untreated, which is how it got as bad as it did. The kittypets that appeared are frequent visitors to SkyClan, as Leafstar mentioned SkyClan can't fully cut themselves off from outsiders that live nearby, but they don't want to be part of the Clan like the daylight warriors. They do hunt for the Clan while they're on Clan territory and train with Clan cats sometimes. Rufuspaw and Kayleepaw are daylight cats, though, and are currently SkyClan apprentices.
> 
> All of the kittypets' names are references. I named Erik after the Phantom of the Opera. That's one of my favorite musicals ever (currently tied for favorite with Hamilton) and I always felt like Erik sounded like a good name for a calm, regal sort of kittypet tom. ^^ I made him skinny because the Erik from PotO is a tall skeletal dude in the book (mostly I was thinking of deviantArt user Muirin007's design for him) and I couldn't picture any cat named after him being anything but tall and skinny. :P Cassia and Lola are named after my new pet cat in real life. ^^ Lola was the name she had at the shelter, and Cassia is the name I gave her, so I decided to use both names in the fic. ^^
> 
> Rufuspaw isn't named after anything, I just liked the sound of it, but Kayleepaw is named after Kaylee from Firefly/Serentiy. I already named a warrior in the distant future of the EOTW 'verse (in the google drive family tree stuff) after her, but oh well, that Kaylee didn't have a suffix, so at least there's that difference. :P I figured that SkyClan would've taken in more daylight warriors after SkyClan's Destiny and StarClan and the stranger, so I wanted to introduce more of them in this fic. ^^ We'll see which of the warriors are daylight cats later.
> 
> Also, random note, but I was rereading SkyClan and the Stranger for the purposes of writing this fic, and I realized that Birdpaw was mentioned to be female at one point, which I'd totally missed when I listed them as male on the allegiances. I don't feel like changing it, and I felt like this was a chance to introduce a trans cat into my 'verse, so as of now Birdshade is a trans tom in the EOTW 'verse. Because I said so. :P
> 
> Anyway, I think that's all I wanted to say for this chapter. Dunno when the next one will be done, I really do want to get more done for my original project before I write more of this.


	5. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Half a moon later...

Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War  
Novella 5: Sasha's Calling  
Chapter Four

     “Sasha?” A pale, fluffy she-cat stood in front of the loner’s nest, her tail twitching uncertainly behind her. “I’ve come to change your bedding.”

     Sasha lifted her head from her nest. Though the last symptoms of ache-fever had faded some days ago, she’d chosen to keep her nest in the medicine den rather than move in with the warriors. Frecklewish said she’d wanted to keep an eye on Sasha for a bit longer, since she was still weak from being underfed, before letting her move into a den with other cats. Sasha didn’t mind - she preferred staying with just Frecklewish in the den. It made things less complicated to only have one close friend in the Clan.

     “Alright,” she mewed easily. The loner pushed to her paws, stepping back so the apprentice could reach her nest. “Thank you, Softpaw.” The apprentice gave her a brief purr in reply, then moved in towards the nest and began gathering the moss together.

      From further back in the den, Frecklewish called out, “Why don’t you go out for a walk for a while, Sasha?” The loner glanced back towards her in surprise. “Softpaw will be able to work more easily if there are less cats in the den, and it’ll do you some good to stretch your legs a bit.”

     Sasha hesitated, then shrugged. “Sure, I guess. I’ll see you later, Frecklewish.” Softpaw backed out of the way so the loner could reach the den’s entrance.

     “Bring us a sparrow from the pile to share when you come back in!” Frecklewish called cheerfully after her. Sasha flicked her tail in acknowledgment. As a daylight cat, Frecklewish got most of her food from her house folk, and she seemed to eat less and less of the Clan's food as the days got colder and prey got harder to find – but she still liked to have a taste of Sasha's meals every now and then, since it tasted better than her kittypet food.

     The morning sun reflected brightly off of the snow as Sasha stepped out into the clearing, making it unnaturally bright. She had to squint to block out the light as she padded out into the snow. There were a lot of cats out in the clearing at this time of morning; she spotted Shrewtooth sitting by the base of the Rockpile, presumably assigning patrols to the group of cats sitting in front of him. Unease pricked at her pelt – she turned and began padding away from the direction of the crowd, choosing instead to walk along the edge of the river. 

     About half a moon had passed since Sasha had been taken in by SkyClan. Leafbare was in full swing now, and prey was scarce, which was why it was taking her so long to put weight back on after her illness. She had never intended to stay so long with the Clan, but she was still too weak to hunt for herself. At least most of her time had been spent in the medicine den, or with a few select cats. She had no desire to get drawn fully into Clan life again. Not after last time.

     “Sasha!” The loner turned to see a couple of the elders sunning themselves on one of the higher ledges. Petalnose was the one who had called out – she blinked at Sasha, waving her tail in a friendly manner. “Come and join us! It's much warmer over here.”

     Sasha hesitated, then began to make her way towards the elders. It took a bit of struggling and clambering to reach the ledge where the elders were laying, but soon she was beside them on the ledge, lowering herself onto her belly between Petalnose and Clovertail. Snow had already been scraped off the rock, and the ledge was directly facing the sun, offering more warmth than lower in the snowy gorge.

     “I don't know how you make this climb so often,” she panted to Petalnose as she tucked her paws underneath of her. “It seems like a long way to climb just for some sunlight.”

     Petalnose gave an amused purr. “Climbing and jumping is what SkyClan does,” she told Sasha. “Even elders like us can still make leaps like this.”

     “And when you're as old and stiff as we are, you'll do whatever it takes to reach the best sunning spot,” Patchfoot joked. Sasha's whiskers twitched. Clovertail pressed against her mate's side, purring as she leaned her cheek against his neck.

     “I saw you walking by the river and figured you might want some company,” Petalnose purred to the loner. “I don't see you outside of the medicine den often.”

     Sasha shrugged. “Softpaw was replacing the moss for my nest, and I didn't want to be under her paws,” she explained.

     Warmth glowed in Petalnose's eyes. “Ah, Softpaw's shaping up to be a good cat,” she purred. “She has her mother's kindness.” Sasha gave a small purr of agreement. Softpaw and her littermates, Blizzardpaw and Graypaw, were the kits of Petalnose's daughter, Mintfur, and her mate Harveymoon. Sasha could see similarities between Softpaw and Petalnose in their pale, almost white fur, and the softness of their pelts, though Petalnose's was shorter. The soft-spoken apprentice really did remind Sasha of her elderly kin.

     Sasha scanned the small group of elders before asking, “Where's Billystorm?” The ginger-and-white tom was the only elder missing from the sunning ledge.

     A somber look came over Patchfoot's face. “He didn't want to come out today,” he told Sasha. “He said he just wanted to stay in the den.”

     “Poor tom,” Petalnose sighed. “He hasn't been the same since Leafstar died.” Clovertail nodded, grief glowing in her eyes. Sasha remembered what Frecklewish had told her about Leafstar's death only the past newleaf, from a wound earned when defending her Clanmates from a badger. The entire Clan still seemed weighed down by the grief of her passing. Sasha could only imagine how noble the she-cat must have been to earn such devotion from her Clan.

     “I know how hard it is to lose a mate,” Petalnose rasped. Grief glowed in her eyes for a moment – and Sasha could feel it reflected in her own heart, as thoughts of Tigerstar rose unbidden in her mind. “But I hope Billystorm doesn't let it weigh him down forever. He still has his kits, and his Clan, and he may have many moons left ahead of him to enjoy their company before joining Leafstar in StarClan.”

     Clovertail's gaze lowered as she looked out into the gorge. “At least some of our Clanmates are enjoying the time they have with their loved ones,” she noted with an amused purr.

     Sasha followed her gaze to see Ebonyclaw and Bouncefire, Clovertail's son, sharing tongues in front of the nursery. Ebonyclaw's eyes closed as Bouncefire nuzzled just under her jawline, an expression of bliss coming over her features. Patchfoot purred, “There's a couple that none of us would have ever seen coming.”

     “Why not?” Sasha asked. Though she didn't want to get to know the Clan cats too well, she didn't want to be impolite.

     Petalnose's whiskers twitched. “As a young warrior, Bouncefire was... he could be rather rash in his judgments, and, well, quite rude to be honest. Don't hiss like that Clovertail, you know it's true. He and his brother Rockshade were some of the harshest critics of the daylight warriors when they first joined the Clan. They believed that no cat could be a true warrior while they lived with twolegs, and they mocked their daylight Clanmates openly. They mellowed a bit about the whole thing as they got older, but you could tell they still didn't approve.”

     Sasha was surprised to hear Bouncefire had been so judgmental as a young. He seemed besotted with his daylight warrior mate as far as Sasha could tell, and had never spoken an ill word against her that she'd heard for living with twolegs. “So what changed?” she asked.

     Grief glowed in Clovertail's eyes for a moment. “Rockshade died a few seasons ago,” she revealed. “It hit Bouncefire hard – they were very close.”

     “He turned to his Clanmates for comfort, and found that the daylight warriors were just as willing to comfort him and stand beside him through his grief as the rest of his Clanmates,” Petalnose explained. “I think that's when he really changed his mind about them. He apologized to a lot of them for how he'd treated them, and he was even the one who found Luckyleaf hunting on our territory and suggested he join as a daylight warrior. He started spending more time with the daylight warriors, and once Ebonyclaw came around to him and really seemed to forgive him for his earlier behavior, the two of them clicked right away.”

     “I can see how much my son loves her, and she seems to love him just as much,” Clovertail purred. “Those kits couldn't have better parents or be better loved. I'm just glad things worked out so well for Bouncefire after his brother died – losing Rockshade was hard for all of us, but life goes on.”

     Seeing the contented expressions of the elders as they looked on their Clanmates, Sasha felt a pang of longing. It had been so long since she'd allowed herself to care about other cats the way these cats cared about their kin. They had suffered losses too, but they'd gotten through them with the support of their loved ones and their Clan. Sasha had been left to suffer her losses alone. Bitterness welled up in her heart, and an aching feeling of grief. Relying on other cats for comfort had only failed her in the past.

     “Sasha!” The loner blinked, surprised out of her dark thoughts by the call from below. She looked down to see Shrewtooth standing on the gorge floor below her, looking up at her with a friendly light to his eyes. Peachflower and Crowdusk stood behind him. “Care to go for a walk?” he called up to her. “I'm not due for a patrol for a while, and I thought we could get some hunting done, though you don't have to overdo it if you're not up to it.”

     The loner hesitated. Before she could answer, however, Petalnose nudged her with one paw. “Go on,” she rasped. “No point in wasting the day lounging around with us old cats. You should stretch your legs in the forest for a while.”

     “Nothing makes a sick warrior feel better than tasting the scents of the forest again after a long time in camp,” Clovertail agreed with a purr.

     After a moment, Sasha reluctantly nodded. “Alright.” She rose to her paws, then began carefully descending from the ledge, scrambling the last few steps down to stand on the gorge floor before Shrewtooth. “I'll come along,” she told the deputy.

     “Glad to hear it,” Shrewtooth purred. He waited until Sasha fell in with the rest of his patrol, then he set off towards the camp's entrance, leading the she-cats over the rocks and into the forest.

     A sense of relief came over Sasha as soon as she stepped back into the woods. She hadn't realized how bored she'd been stuck in the medicine den for so long until she felt caught the scent of leaves and grass under the snow-scent again, and could hear the stirring of tiny creatures in the undergrowth. Some wild instinct awoke in her veins as she followed behind the patrol. At the sound of rustling a few paces away, she lowered into a crouch, then began to creep forward in the snow, one paw in front of the other, until she was only a tail-length away from her prey. She gathered her legs underneath her, just the way she'd been trained, and then she pounced.

     “Great catch!” Peachflower called. Sasha looked up, a vole hanging from her jaws. “That was the best stalking I've ever seen.”

     Sasha's ears flew back in embarrassment. She felt a brush of grief as she remembered Tigerstar teaching her how to hunt and stalk like a Clan cat – then she pushed those thoughts roughly to the back of her mind. “Thank you,” she mewed, trying to keep her tone from sounding too embarrassed. “I certainly can't jump like your warriors can, though.”

     “Neither of us can jump like SkyClan-born cats can,” Crowdusk mewed, flicking an ear towards Peachflower. “But we've still learned a lot about hunting from joining the Clan, and I like to think we brought something for them to learn too, from the skills we learned as rogues.”

     Peachflower purred, touching her nose to Crowdusk's ear. “You always were quick to learn,” she purred. Crowdusk butted her patchy muzzled against Peachflower's chin. From what Frecklewish had told Sasha, Peachflower and her sister, Thymeleaf, had been rogues when they found a patchy, almost mangy-looking kitten wandering alone in the forest. Young Crow was the kit of a kittypet, who had apparently been bred by twolegs for her partly-hairless look, but she had run away from her house folk and had died when Crow was a kit. Peach, Thyme, and Crow had lived as a family for some time before being taken in by SkyClan and becoming full warriors.

     “When I was willing to listen, anyway,” Crowdusk joked. She lashed her tail, claws sliding out as she stared out into the undergrowth. “Waspwhisker managed to get it through my head eventually to pay attention to his training, rather than thinking I was smart enough to train myself.”

     Shrewtooth's whiskers twitched. “You were a stubborn apprentice,” he teased. “But you're a fine warrior now. SkyClan is lucky to have you.” Crowdusk gave a proud lash of her tail, purring loudly.

     Sasha buried her vole, then the patrol set off again. The Clan cats chatted among themselves for a while, though Sasha stayed out of it, not wanting to get too friendly with the warriors. After some time had passed, Crowdusk and Peachflower decided to go off on their own and practice their squirrel hunting. Once they padded away through the snowy undergrowth, Sasha was left alone with Shrewtooth.

     Her pelt fluffed out with discomfort – she'd gone out with a group with the hopes of avoiding too much one-on-one interaction, and now she'd been left alone with the deputy. But to his credit, Shrewtooth didn't try to speak with her right away. He seemed content enough to walk along at an easy pace in the forest in comfortable silence. Sasha padded along behind him, wary but willing to follow along in silence.

     After a while Shrewtooth paused, his nose twitching, underneath the branches of a birch tree. Before Sasha could even see what he'd spotted, the black tom gave a massive leap, snagging a sparrow from an overhead branch before it even had time to cry out. He landed on all four paws with the sparrow between his jaws.

     Sasha had been enjoying the silence until now, but she could help but mew a sincere, “Nice catch!” Even after a half moon with the Clan, it still impressed her the way SkyClan cats could leap far higher and stronger than any Clan cat she'd known.

     “Thanks,” Shrewtooth purred, dropping the sparrow at his paws. He gave it a quick poke with one paw. “Hmm. Not the plumpest one I've ever seen, but it should be good for a couple of mouthfuls.” He scooped it up in his jaws again, then headed to the birch's roots, starting to dig under the snow to bury his prey.

     While he dug, he called to Sasha, “How have you been getting on in the medicine den? I meant to check on you more often, but things have been busy with patrols now that prey is scarcer.”

     “Fine,” Sasha mewed briefly. “Frecklewish has been looking after me.”

     “Frecklewish is a great medicine cat,” Shrewtooth mewed. He finished burying the sparrow, scraping the last of the snow over it, then turned back to Sasha. “The Clan is lucky to have her, especially now that Echosong is gone.” Grief glowed in his eyes for a moment. “You would've liked Echosong,” he told Sasha. “She was always so comforting and wise, always good at putting cats at their ease. Frecklewish learned that from her. She was our medicine cat since SkyClan started, but we lost her last greenleaf to some sort of lump in her stomach that wouldn't heal.”

     “I'm sorry,” Sasha murmured. Frecklewish had told her about her former mentor, who she seemed to hold in very high esteem.

     Shrewtooth sighed. “Well, Frecklewish has been doing very well as the full medicine cat since Echosong died, and Honeyflower helps out whenever she has to go back to her twolegs. And with all of these kits in the nursery, hopefully Frecklewish will have an apprentice soon.”

     “She'll be a good mentor,” Sasha mewed. She felt more at ease now that they were talking about Frecklewish – the medicine cat was the cat she was closest with in the Clan. “She's a kind cat, and a good medicine cat.”

     Shrewtooth purred his agreement. As the two set off into the forest again, Shrewtooth mewed to Sasha, “I know it must be hard being stuck in our camp for so long.” Sasha glanced at him, put on guard by his words. Pride stirring in her gut as she forced herself to meet his gaze evenly. “It's never easy staying out of the forest that long. But I'm glad you've stayed – Ebonyclaw's kits adore you, and it's clear that Frecklewish counts you as a friend. The elders have taken to you as well.”

     Sasha tried to hide her surprise at his words. She had been expecting a lecture on staying in camp until she was strong enough to hunt for herself, not to be told how well his Clanmates liked her. She couldn't help but feel a brush of pleasure at the thought – but after a moment, unease replaced it. She had never intended to settle into SkyClan so well. All she wanted was to leave Clan life behind her for good once she was well enough to go.

     “Thank you,” she mewed in as even a tone as she could manage. “I don't plan on staying much longer, though. I'm a traveler at heart.”

     “I understand,” Shrewtooth mewed. There was a friendly gleam to his eyes as he added, “But I hope we can go hunting again before you go. And you'll always be welcome to visit even after you've left. SkyClan never forgets its friends, after all.”

     Sasha hesitated. She had never wanted to let herself get too close to the Clan cats. But there was something so open about the way Shrewtooth spoke with her, something honest and plain, that made Sasha want to trust him. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to get to know some of the Clan cats a little better, as long as she was going to be stuck with them, and Shrewtooth seemed like a good place to start.

     “I suppose we can,” she mewed. “As long as I'm here, anyway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got some world-building and some writing done for my original project, so I decided to celebrate by writing another Sasha's Calling chapter. ^^ So here ya go. :D I'll probably write more soon - but my new job starts tomorrow, so I'll be busy soon. But we'll see. I'm nervous as frick about the job. I just hope I'll be good at it.
> 
> So we learn it's been half a moon since Sasha came to stay with SkyClan, and we get to see more of the Clan and their relationships to each other. As stated, Softpaw, Blizzardpaw, and Graypaw are the kits of Mintfur and Harveymoon. I always liked their interactions, though brief, in SkyClan and the Stranger, and I wanted to show more of the daylight cats being integrated into the Clans by having kits in the Clan, so I decided to make Mintfur and Harveymoon mates and give them kits. ^^ We got to see Softpaw's more, well, soft personality here, and I'll try to show her brothers later.
> 
> We also get to hear the backstory behind Ebonyclaw and Bouncefire being mates, since I felt that deserved some explanation. It's also worth nothing that Tinycloud decided to have kits with her mate Sageleaf around the time that Ebonyclaw became pregnant so that she could nurse Ebonyclaw's kits when she had to go back to her twolegs at night, the nights that Ebonyclaw couldn't avoid going back without freaking out her house folk. Tinycloud and Sageleaf had wanted kits already, but they timed it to help out Ebonyclaw. ^^ It was touched upon in this chapter, I just wanted to more fully explain.
> 
> We also learn that Peachflower and Thymeleaf are sisters and former rogues, and raised Crowdusk as foster mothers to her when they found her as a kit. Crowdusk, by the by, is a Lykoi, a breed of cat bred for their partial hairlessness. I always thought they were very interesting-looking cats, so I decided to include one in SkyClan. ^^ Her mentor was Waspwhisker, as was hinted at in the text. Peach and Thyme were already adults when they joined, so after some brief brushing up of their skills and a few cats teaching them SkyClan moves, they were made full warriors without any apprentice training. And we also learn that Luckyleaf is a daylight warrior. And it's explained how Echosong and Leafstar died, since I felt that also merited explanation.
> 
> I think that's everything I wanted to cover. ^^ I'll probably get the next chapter done soon, but we'll see.


	6. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some days later...

Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War  
Novella 5: Sasha's Calling  
Chapter Five

     The starling hardly had time to squawk its alarm before Sasha snagged it out of the sky. She hooked her claws into its wings and brought it down to the earth, landing neatly on all four paws with the bird under her claws. It struggled and screeched, but a quick nip to its spine quickly silenced it.

     “Great catch!” Sasha turned to see Egg approaching her, the rest of the patrol behind him. “You're really starting to get the hang of jumping like a SkyClan cat.”

     The loner's tail curled in pleasure. “Thanks,” she purred, lifting her head proudly. “Shrewtooth's been helping me with it a lot – though I still can't manage it as well as you SkyClan cats can.” She grabbed up the starling in her teeth, carrying it over to a dip beside a snow-laden bush and began burying it.

     “Jumping didn't come naturally to me either,” Macgyver mewed. The daylight warrior glanced ruefully at his flanks. “It's always been tougher for those of us who don't have SkyClan blood – we didn't inherit the strong legs and muscles for jumping the way our Clanmates have.”

     Egg glanced at him kindly. “But you have other strengths that we SkyClan-blooded cats don't have,” he mewed. Macgyver blinked at him, surprise softening into gratitude in his eyes. “We all have our strengths, it's just a matter of using them to our best advantage, especially in hard hunting times like these.” His gaze slid to a fluffy tom behind him as he added, “And knowing when something isn't our strength,” in a wry mew.

     The fluffy apprentice gave an indignant lash of his tail. “Hey, I would've caught that stupid squirrel if that bramble hadn't tripped me up!” he protested.

     “No way,” a gray tabby snorted. “It was ages away from you and had a clear shot towards that nook under the tree roots, even before you tripped.”

     “I can outrun a dumb old squirrel any day,” the fluffy tom snapped.

     The tabby rolled his eyes. “In your dreams, fluffhead,” he scoffed. “I bet that squirrel's having a nice laugh from his den about that lumbering badger of a cat who tried to catch it.”

     Before the fluffy tom could sputter out a retort, Egg stepped between them. “Blizzardpaw, Graypaw, that's enough,” he scolded. There was a strict gleam in his blue eyes. “Blizzardpaw, courage must be tempered with humility. No cat can outrun a squirrel at that distance – you have to learn to judge situations more carefully before you leap into things. Mistakes have consequences.”

     “And Graypaw, there's no need to rile up your brother that way,” Macgyver added in a disapproving mew. The tabby scoffed, but he had the decency to look a little ashamed. “You may have been right about the squirrel, but there's no call to mock a cat for their mistakes. Apologize at once.”

     Graypaw glared briefly at his mentor, before turning to Blizzardpaw. “I'm sorry,” he grunted, not sounding all that sincere – but Sasha thought she caught his gaze flicking briefly to his brother, as though worried of his response.

     “Yeah, whatever twiglegs,” Blizzardpaw sniffed, though he did look mollified. Sasha held back a sigh. The sons of Mintfur and Harveymoon always seemed to be butting heads, mostly over Blizzardpaw's oversized ego, and it had only gotten more heated as the hunting got harder and every tongue grew sharper with hunger. But it was clear that deep down they loved each other.  As she watched Graypaw stick his tongue out at his brother the moment their mentors turned their backs, she guessed that this was hardly the last time she would see the pair bicker like this.

     Once her starling was buried, the patrol set off again, Sasha falling in with the rest of them. Her mind wandered as they traveled through the snow. Nearly a moon had passed since SkyClan had taken her in. Though prey was still too scarce for her to let her put on enough weight, she had gotten much stronger the past few days.

     Shrewtooth and Frecklewish had been a big part of that. They had convinced her to join more patrols so she could start building up her strength through proper exercise. Though Sasha had been reluctant to spend too much time with SkyClan cats, she had to admit that they’d been right. She was much stronger now that she’d been hunting and patrolling more often. Soon she would be strong enough to strike out on her own once more – but with hunting as hard as it was right now, it felt wrong to leave SkyClan. They had helped her, after all, and they were good cats. She felt guilty at the thought of leaving them to face a hard leafbare while she was capable of helping to hunt for them. She could always leave when the hunting got easier.

     As her mind wandered, the last member of the patrol, Larchleaf, fell in beside Sasha. “I’m glad my father didn’t pick me to mentor either of those two mousebrains,” he joked, glancing towards the apprentices. Both toms still looked huffy about the earlier argument, and Macgyver and Egg wore tense expressions, but the younger warrior seemed at ease. “It’s hard enough trying to focus on hunting with prey this scarce without having to wrangle a stubborn apprentice.”

     Sasha snorted. “You’re a little young to be mentoring anyone,” she told him, though not unkindly. “But once you’re experienced enough, you’ll enjoy it, I think. You just have to learn when it’s best to let them try it their own way, and when it’s time to tell them off. It’s a lot like-”

     She fell abruptly silent, shaken by what she’d nearly let slip out. _It’s a lot like being a parent._ While she struggled with her sudden surge of emotion, Larchleaf gazed at her curiously. “Almost like...?” he pressed. When she didn’t answer, he tried a different tack. “Were you ever a mentor?” Sasha was jerked out of her dark mood by surprise. “When you were with the other Clans, I mean?”

     “What? No, of course not,” Sasha mewed quickly, trying to hide her brief slip of mood from the tom. “I was never a Clan warrior, just a visitor. They don’t let outsiders mentor apprentices.”

     Larchleaf shrugged. “I don't know, it might be a good idea, at least for a few lessons,” he mewed thoughtfully. “Outsiders have skills that we don’t. We could learn a lot from them. We learn a lot from the daylight warriors, and the kittypets and loners who visit us.”

     “Yeah, well, the other Clans don’t see things that way,” Sasha mewed, unable to hide the bitter edge to her mew.

      Larchleaf’s eyes gleamed with curiosity, but when Sasha didn’t elaborate, he shrugged and turned his attention back to the snowy forest. It still surprised Sasha how different the outgoing tom was from his stern father and curt sister. He seemed happy enough just to joke with his Clanmates and spend his days hunting rather than arguing over important Clan matters, as his father and sister often did. The young tom was definitely the most laid-back cat in his family

     Sasha had been getting to know a lot of the warriors and apprentices better since that first hunt with Shrewtooth. She knew that Harveymoon preferred a easy ramble through the woods to a hard day of work, but was fiercely protective of his Clan and family. She knew that Rabbitleap loved to come up with new hunting and fighting techniques to address different skill sets, and that Honeyflower loved babysitting the kits and longed for a litter of her own. She knew that Harrytooth looked after his grieving father with patience and understanding, and that Stormfall reminded everyone of her patient and noble mother, while Firelily had a bite to her mew and a fierce pride and eagerness that suited her name. Little by little, the cats of SkyClan were becoming as familiar to her as the cats of RiverClan and ShadowClan had once been.

     Part of her heart protested against this, warning her that it was dangerous to grow too close, that Clans weren't to be trusted, that she was leaving SkyClan behind once she was better and she shouldn't let herself be hurt again. But as long as she didn't plan on staying, she was finding it harder and harder to convince herself not to let herself get to know and like the SkyClan cats she was living with. She would be fine, surely, as long as she was careful not to get too attached.

     The patrol stayed out a bit longer before collecting their prey and returning to camp. Most of the Clan still seemed to be out of camp when the patrol arrived. Shrewtooth was sharing tongues with Petalnose when Sasha followed the patrol in, but he stood and approached the loner when he spotted her. “How's the prey running?” he greeted with a purr.

     “As well as it can in leafbare,” Sasha answered. She touched noses briefly with the deputy before pulling back. The two cats headed together towards the fresh-kill pile, where Sasha deposited her starling. She eyed the pile critically once the starling lay atop it. “Still not great, though,” she added. “The Clan's going to need more than this for tonight.”

     Shrewtooth sighed. “I'll send out another hunting patrol once the border patrol returns,” he decided. Sasha could see weariness in the set of the deputy's face, and his disheveled pelt clung a little too close to his frame. Sasha felt a brush of sympathy for the tom.

     Ever since it had snowed, Shrewtooth had been constantly on his paws, always patrolling and hunting and working with Sharpstar to work out the best ways to find enough prey for the Clan. Even as exhausted as he could be after so much work for his Clan, he always tried to make time for cats who were feeling down, especially the younger cats. But Sasha knew him well enough now to see that the hard hunting was getting to him more than he let on. He was a good cat who cared for his Clan – but he wasn't invincible.

     “I'll go with the patrol, if you like,” she offered, forcing a cheerful lilt into her mew for her friend's sake.

     Shrewtooth gave the loner a grateful glance. “I'd appreciate that,” he told her. “But I won't send out the patrol until after Cherrytail and the others get back, so you can rest until then if you like.” He flicked his tail against her pelt in a friendly manner, then turned away, bounding up the rocky cliff face to Sharpstar's den.

     Sasha watched him go for a few moments, then turned away, intent on heading for the medicine den to rest. But a mew called her back before she could reach it. “Sasha!”

     She turned to see a familiar black she-cat padding towards her. “Hello, Ebonyclaw,” she mewed, touching noses with the queen.

     Ebonyclaw gave a friendly blink. Ever since saving Sasha from the snow, Ebonyclaw had made a clear effort to befriend the loner that had saved her kits. Sasha had grown to like Ebonyclaw's rational nature, and her general friendliness and patience.

     The two she-cats sat together in the snow. “I'm glad you're back from hunting,” the daylight warrior mewed. “Have you seen the fresh-kill pile?”

     Sasha nodded. “Shrewtooth and I were just talking about it,” she confirmed.

     “I always feel restless when the pile is low,” Ebonyclaw admitted. “It's hard knowing that my meals are guaranteed, but my Clanmates' aren't. Especially now that I'm holed up in camp most of the time.”

     Sasha's whiskers twitched. “It's not like you're just sitting around being useless in camp,” she pointed out. “Looking after kits is hard work, especially with the little troublemakers you have. That's just as important as being a good warrior.”

     A purr rose from Ebonyclaw's chest. “That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” she revealed. “I want to go out hunting for a while – I'm feeling too restless to stay in camp. But Bouncefire is out on patrol right now, and Tinycloud has her own kits to look after. Would you mind looking after my kits while I'm out of camp?” As Sasha blinked her surprise, the black queen added, “I know how much they like you – they'll be glad you're the one looking after them.”

     Sasha's pelt fluffed out in surprise at Ebonyclaw's praise. After a moment, she managed a brief, “Sure, I can keep an eye on them,” as a response. Affection for the kits sprung up in her heart. It warmed her to hear that Ebonyclaw thought the kits had taken a particular liking to her. Even if they were troublemakers, they were still good-hearted kits, and she felt a certain protectiveness for them after having saved them.

     “Thank you, Sasha,” Ebonyclaw purred. She rose to her paws, gave a final friendly blink to the loner, then turned and began padding away. Sasha watched until she had bounded over the rocks and out of camp, then turned towards the nursery.

     Tinycloud was laying on her nest when Sasha entered the den, Ebonyclaw's kits gathered around in front of her. “Hello, Sasha,” the white queen purred in greeting. Her tail swept aside to reveal her young sons, Dovekit and Sleetkit, asleep at her belly. The pair were a full moon younger than Ebonyclaw's litter, and not yet old enough to cause as much mischief as their denmates. “Have you come to help me with these rascals?”

     “Yes, Ebonyclaw just asked me to look after them,” she revealed. She glanced at Tinycloud's sleeping kits, adding, “Maybe I should take them outside the den so your kits can sleep in peace? Knowing these three,” she gestured to Ebonyclaw's kits with a flick of her tail, “they'll make some sort of racket that will have them awake in no time.”

     “We're not that noisy!” Emberkit protested indignantly.

     Tinycloud's whiskers twitched. “Thank you, that would be kind of you,” she purred. Sasha gave the queen a brief nod, then began to shepherd the kits out of the nursery and out into the camp.

     “Why do Tinycloud's kits have to sleep so much anyway?” Sparkkit protested once they were out of the den. “Sleep is boring! There’s so much time in the day to play, sleeping is just a waste!”

     Sasha’s whiskers twitched at the kit’s indignation. “Dovekit and Sleetkit are still younger than you,” she reminded Sparkkit. “They don’t have the amount of energy that you do yet. Once they’re old enough, I’m sure they’ll play with you more often.”

     “I hope so,” Sparkkit huffed. “It’s boring waiting for them to wake up all the time. I want to play moss ball with them and show them all the best hiding spots for hide and seek.”

     “Or the best places to sneak out of camp,” Emberkit added, a mischievous glint to her eyes. The little tortoiseshell had recovered well from her near-drowning, and had bounced quickly back to her energetic self, though she wasn’t quite as cheery or outgoing as her sister.

     Sasha fixed the tortoiseshell kit with a stern glare. “There’ll be no sneaking out of camp while I’m in charge,” she mewed firmly. “And you shouldn’t sneak around so often anyway. It’s dangerous in the forest for kits as small as you. Your parents just want to look out for you.”

      Smokekit sighed. “I try to tell them it’s dangerous, but they never listen,” he complained.

     “That’s ‘cause you’re a bossy old stiffwhiskers who doesn’t like having fun,” Emberkit informed her brother in a snarky mew. Smokekit glared at her, sticking his tongue out, but didn’t bother to reply. “It’s _boring_ in camp. It’s no fun being stuck here all the time.”

     Sasha reached out her muzzle, touching her nose to Emberkit's ear. “You'll be apprentices in a few moons,” she reminded the kits. “You'll be able to go into the forest then.”

     “But that's _ages_ away!” Emberkit complained.

     Sparkkit trotted over to her sister, poking her with one paw. “Cheer up!” she purred. “At least we can play with Dovekit and Sleetkit when they get bigger!” Emberkit flicked her ears towards Sparkkit, but she didn't look entirely assured. Sasha had a feeling that the fierce, sarcastic little she-kit lacked her sister's confidence when it came to befriending other cats and connecting with her Clanmates, though she was as bold as her in other aspects. She couldn't help but feel a brush of sympathy for the kit. It was hard not knowing one's place.

     “It won't feel like that long forever,” Sasha mewed. “But for now, would you like me to teach you a hunting technique?”

     Three pairs of wide eyes locked onto her. Emberkit and Sparkkit's pelts bristled with joy, their eyes shining as they looked at Sasha. “Yes!” they squeaked out.

     Sasha fought to keep her whiskers from twitching in amusement. She fell into a hunting crouch, drawing herself forward with her belly fur brushing low against the snowy ground. “Crouch like this, then gather your legs underneath you,” she demonstrated, gathering herself for the leap, “and then pounce!” She launched herself forward, landing neatly with her front paws pinning a stray leaf to the snow, as though it were prey.

     “That's so cool!” Emberkit squeaked. Her eyes were wide with admiration. “You must be such a good hunter!”

     A small purr escaped the loner. It was a pleasant surprise to hear praise from the usually-sarcastic she-kit. “You will be too one day,” she told her. “Here,  you three try it.” She lowered herself onto the ground, waving and flicking her tail behind her in random motions. “Try catching my tail with the pounce I just showed you.”

     Joy shone in the eyes of the kits. Sparkkit and Emberkit lowered immediately into crouches, butts wriggling and tails waving as they crept towards Sasha's waving tail. Their crouches were clumsy and poorly balanced, but kept her criticism to herself – they would hear enough of that when their training started for real. While Smokekit watched them uncertainly, the she-kits pounced one after the other towards Sasha's tail. The loner kept her tail out of the kits' reach, purring as they leaped and bounded to try and catch it.

     Finally, after an impressive leap, Sparkkit managed to catch Sasha's tail in her jaws. Her eyes lit up with joy. “I 'augh' i'!” she crowed around a mouthful of fur.

     Sasha started to purr a response, but the words died in her throat as she looked at the kit in front of her. Sparkkit's pelt was disheveled from play, and her eyes were bright with joy as she held the loner's tail between her teeth. The scene was so familiar to one from so many times long ago, when a dark tabby kit had stared at her with ice-blue eyes bright with joy, and her tail hanging past his white chin. _“I 'augh' i', Mama!”_

     Her breath caught. For a moment, her chest seized in on itself. The excitement in Sparkkit's eyes faded to confusion, and Smokekit took a step towards her, eyes glowing with concern, but Sasha couldn't speak to reassure them. Her pelt was beginning to tremble with emotion. Memories that she had forced back seasons ago were playing in her mind, holding her captive in a frozen moment. Memories of ice-blue eyes growing colder with the moons, a golden tabby with her father’s eyes, and a little black tom who never had the chance to grow beside his littermates. Her heart ached inside of her. _I failed you..._

     “Sasha?” Through the muddied haze of painful memories, Sasha managed to recognize Shrewtooth's mew. She blinked a few times. The deputy was standing in front of her, the kits peering curiously at her from beside him. There was something gentle in his expression as he looked at Sasha. “Are you alright?”

     The loner gave her a head a violent shake to clear it. “I... yes, I'm fine,” she said in a hasty mew. She fought to lower her bristling hackles, but she couldn't quite shake the sudden surge of emotion that had overcome her. So many seasons alone and bitter over her losses had only made the memories hurt more, and she could feel that pain coursing through her heart now.

     Shrewtooth looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he turned to the kits. “Why don't you three go to the elder's den for a while and listen to their stories?” he suggested. “I'm sure Clovertail and Petalnose will be happy to look after you until another warrior can take over.” The kits looked confused, but quickly nodded and padded off towards the elder's den as requested. Shrewtooth fell in beside Sasha, though his pelt didn't touch hers. “Would you like to go for a walk?” he asked in an even tone.

     She nodded quickly, feeling her breathing hitch again. Shrewtooth didn't comment on her obvious panic – he merely nodded, then began to lead her forward towards the camp's entrance. Sasha tried to focus on keeping pace with him rather than the memories flowing through her mind. The longer she walked in the forest, breathing in the crisp leafbare air, the calmer she felt. Eventually she was able to slow her breathing and focus on her surroundings once more.

     Shrewtooth glanced at her, his gaze soft. “Feeling better?” he asked.

     “Yes.” Sasha was surprised at how steady her own voice sounded. “Thank you – I didn't mean to freeze up in front of the kits like that. Something Sparkkit said, it just... it just reminded me of something.” _Of something I lost,_ she added silently, though she didn't dare to speak the words aloud. That would make it real. “I'm sorry.”

     The deputy shook his head. “There's nothing to apologize for,” he mewed. Something dark flashed in his eyes as he added, “I know what it's like to freeze up like that. I figured you wouldn't want to be crowded by the kits when that happened – and tasting the forest air always used to help me calm down.”

     Sasha glanced at the deputy in surprise. Shrewtooth seemed like a fairly confident and collected tom to her – she wouldn't have imagined him as the sort of cat to go into panics like what she'd just faced. She opened her jaws to ask what he'd meant, but quickly closed them again. She hadn't shared her past with the tom – why should she expect him to share his? Instead, she mewed, “I appreciate it. I don't like other cats seeing me like that.”

     Shrewtooth nodded. “I can understand that,” he murmured. “It's a hard thing to feel like that.” He hesitated – and for a brief moment, Sasha thought she could see a glimpse of the anxious tom he'd spoken of being. “I know you have your pride, and I know how hard it can be to talk about things,” he mewed. “But if you need to talk, I'm here to listen. If you want. Sometimes it helps just having a cat to listen.”

     The loner hesitated. Her hurt ran deep, and her mistakes and her choices weren't something she had ever wanted to share with another cat. Speaking about the past would only dredge it up again and bring back her old pain. But Shrewtooth's expression held no judgment or expectation, only sympathy. She found herself feeling calmer knowing she had the deputy's support, even if she didn't want to tell him about her past. He was a true friend to her.

     “I don't want to talk about it,” she mewed in a careful tone. “But thank you, Shrewtooth.” She held the tom's gaze for a few moments to make sure he knew that she meant it. Shrewtooth said nothing, only blinking slowly back at her. Sasha turned away, feeling an odd sense of contentment in her heart. It was good to have friends again - even if it couldn’t last forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For whatever reason this chapter was really hard to write. I just kept getting blocked whenever I tried to work on it. But I finally finished it, and I'm fairly satisfied with the final product, even if it's not as good as some of the other chapters. Oh well, next chapter should be better, and it has a more interesting plot, so it should be easier to write. I wanna get this novell done soon, because I have some stuff coming up in my personal life that might have me rather busy for the forseable future. But we'll see.
> 
> I'm trying to cram in as many of the new SkyClan cats as possible so they can all have at least a little personality by the end of this novella, can you tell? :P Here we get to see more of Larchleaf, Blizzardpaw, and Graypaw, and Ebonyclaw's kits, as well as mentions of some of the others. ^^ And Egg finally gets another appearance, yay. :D I always felt bad that he was basically forgotten about in canon, so I made sure he showed up in my novella, and he's a mentor as well. :D Though his apprentice is quite a pawful. :P
> 
> It's weird to think I'm already halfway through this one, but like I said, I have some stuff maybe coming up soon, so I wanna get this one done kinda quickly - though I certainly shall endeavor not to sacrifice quality for speed. ;)
> 
> I think that's everything I wanted to say. Next chapter will probably be up soon. See y'all then. ^^


	7. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some new arrivals surprise Sasha...

Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War  
Novella 5: Sasha's Calling  
Chapter Six

     “The visitors are here!”

     Sasha lifted her head, still blinking the last of sleep from her eyes. All around her, warriors were waking up, blinking groggily and pricking their ears towards the den's entrance. Most of them had been roused by Birdshade's cry – though a few were still asleep in their nests.

     While the rest of the warriors started out of the den, Sasha crossed over to Shrewtooth's nest. It had been the black deputy, together with Frecklewish, who suggested that Sasha move into the warrior's den. Sasha had hesitated for a bit before agreeing to it. Her nest had been in the warrior's den for the last few nights. Much as Sasha hated to admit it, she had missed the feeling of pelts beside her own as she slept, and was glad to be able to sleep beside other cats again.

     “Shrewtooth,” she murmured, nudging the deputy with one paw. The black tom shifted, one hind paw twitching. “Wake up, something's going on in camp.”

     The tom's lip twitched in his sleep, his brow furrowing. A low whimper escaped him. Sasha nudged him a little harder with her paw, only for the tom's head to shoot up. Sasha took a step back in surprise as Shrewtooth gasped and panted, eyes bugging out with fear, pelt and tail trembling. Her ears flew back in shock. The deputy looked completely terrified.

     “Shrewtooth?” The deputy's terrified gaze slid to her. Sasha had no idea what was going on, but she could see that her friend was stuck in his panic, and needed to be drawn out. “It's Sasha – you're in your nest, you're with your Clan,” she said in a tone of forced calm. “It's okay.”

     Shrewtooth blinked a few times, staring at Sasha with blank terror in his eyes, before recognition began to flare there instead. Slowly, his hackles began to lower, and his trembling faded away. “Sasha?” he rasped. Though he was calmer now, terror still lingered in his eyes.

     “Yes, it's me.” She reached her muzzle towards the black tom, but he flinched away, so she pulled back, giving the tom his space. “Are you alright?”

     The tom let out a slow breath, pulling his tail in towards himself and shifting himself into a more comfortable sitting position. “I'm okay,” he murmured. “Just a bad dream. It happens sometimes.” He turned his gaze back to Sasha, looking calmer now, but weary. “What's going on?”

     “Birdshade said something about visitors being in camp,” Sasha explained. “I figured you would want to be awake to see who was here.”

     “Yes, thank you,” Shrewtooth mewed. He pushed slowly onto his paws, stretching out each limb before straightening out again.

     Sasha looked over her friend uncertainly. “Do you want to wait a moment before going out there?” she asked. While he seemed a lot calmer, she could see fur along his back still prickling uncomfortably.

     He shook his head. “I'm alright,” he insisted. His yellow-green gaze softened as he added, “But thank you.” On stiff legs he headed to the den's entrance. The tom paused for a moment, taking a moment to collect himself, before padding out of the den. Sasha followed after him.

     The light of early morning was only just starting to trickle down into the snowy gorge. In the shadows cast by the gorge walls, cats were crowding around something near the camp's entrance, mewing excitedly to each other. Sasha could only just spot new pelts among the crowd, but she couldn't see them very well. A flash of black fur was all that she could make out. “Who are these visitors anyway?” she asked Shrewtooth, hoping to distract him from his unease with the question.

     “You're not the only outsider we've offered shelter to,” Shrewtooth answered, his voice sounding stronger now. “Every so often, usually around leafbare, some local rogues and loners like to live in our camp and hunt with us during hard hunting times. It means more mouths to feed, but it's also more hunters, so it works out. A lot of these cats have become friends to our Clan over time.” There was a bright gleam to his eyes as he approached the crowd, Sasha following behind him. The loner was glad to see he looked happier at the prospect of greeting old friends. She just hoped that whatever had frightened him so much in his dreams wouldn't stay with him all day. She knew all too well how long things like that could stay in a cat's mind and refuse to go away.

     Shrewtooth led Sasha to the center of the crowd, where the newcomers stood. Creekfeather and Goldentail were nuzzling a golden tabby she-cat while two younger gray cats stood nearby. “That's Creekfeather's mate, Tetra,” Shrewtooth murmured to Sasha. The loner's ears flicked back in surprise. “The paler she-cat is their daughter, Dahlia, who lives as a loner with her mother. Stream is their daughter too, but she has a den nearby and lives as a rogue. Goldentail is the only one from the litter who chose to live with the Clan.”

     “He has a mate outside of the Clan?” Sasha murmured back, unable to keep the surprise from her mew. “And that's allowed?”

     “No point in not allowing it, when we have cats who live outside of the Clan half the time anyway,” he answered. “And there aren't any other Clans to challenge our loyalties. Creekfeather loves Tetra, but he lives with the Clan and puts them first when needed, so it all works out.” While Sasha struggled with this new information, Shrewtooth approached the three she-cats. “It's good to see you all again,” he said in a friendly purr.

     Sharpstar pushed his way to the front of the crowd, his head held high and a proud gleam to his green eyes. “Welcome, all of you,” he rumbled. The rest of the Clan cats stepped back to give their leader room to face the newcomers. “It is good to see you here again.” He dipped his head to the she-cats, saying, “Tetra, you and your kits are welcome here, as always. We look forward to hunting with you.”

     The leader turned his attention next to the rest of the visitors. “Coal, Shelia, it's good to see you again.” One of the rogues, the black tom named Coal, dipped his head respectfully to the leader. Shelia just flicked her tail. Sharpstar's gaze fell to Shelia's paws, softening with affection. “And I see we have some new visitors to meet,” he added in a purr.

     “Of course.” Sasha blinked. Something was familiar about the tom's voice, but she couldn't quite place it. The tattered, scruffy tom pressed against Shelia's side, lowering his muzzle to her paws. “Sharpstar, SkyClan, I'd like for you to meet our kits,” he purred. He nudged them forward one by one, mewing, “These are our daughters, Storm and Leaf, and our son Patch. I've been telling them all about SkyClan. They couldn't wait to meet you.”

     Suddenly, it clicked. “Coal!” Sasha gasped. “You're the one that was hurt by that work folk!”

     Everyone fell silent, turning to Sasha in surprise. Coal himself looked confused for a few moments, before recognition flared in his eyes. “You're that rogue she-cat that came in before I was hurt, aren't you?” he realized. “You're... Sasha, right?”

     “Yes, that's me,” Sasha mewed. She approached Coal, who flicked his tail in a friendly way as she touched her nose to his. “It's good to see you again.”

     “You two know each other?” Birdshade asked. The black tom stood nearby, still watching the loners after having announced their arrival.

     Coal nodded. “I used to live in a different forest, but twolegs started destroying it, and they captured a lot of cats from the area and closed them up in mesh dens. I was captured by them, and so was Sasha. One of the twolegs pushed me against the mesh and hurt my leg.”

     “I remember that,” Sasha murmured. “That twoleg was vicious.” She could still hear Coal's screech of pain ringing in her ears, and remember the fear that had shot through her when she realized just how ruthless their captors were. It was the first time she had ever been frightened of a twoleg in her life. It had only made her happy life with Ken and Jean seem that much longer ago.

     “A forest cat named Leafpaw helped me to stop the bleeding,” Coal continued. “I never forgot her kindness. After a bunch of other forest cats came to help us escape, I vowed to try to be a friend to other cats in need, like Leafpaw and the others had been for me.” He glanced at his tabby daughter, warmth glowing in his eyes as he added, “I named Leaf after her, in memory of what she did for me.”

     Surprise pricked at Sasha's pelt. Before he'd been injured by the twoleg, Coal had seemed like a grumpy and hostile sort of tom, refusing to interact with anyone until he was wounded. But there was an air of openness and friendliness around the black tom now, a bright gleam to his amber eyes, that hadn't been there before. Though the change surprised Sasha, it was nice to see that the tom had made a happier life for himself after being captured by the twolegs.

     “Leafpaw?” Sharpstar repeated, gaze sharpening with interest. He glanced at Sasha. “Didn't you say that was the name of Firestar's daughter.”

     “That's her,” Sasha confirmed. “She's the one training to be a medicine cat. She was only an apprentice when she was captured with the rest of us, but she acted with the maturity of a much older healer when she helped Coal with his leg. She must be a fine medicine cat by now.”

     Warmth glowed in Sharpstar's eyes. “I'm glad to hear it,” he rumbled. “If that is the case, then I'm glad that she carries Leafstar's name.” His gaze slid to Leaf, adding, “And I'm sure your daughter will be just as worthy of it.” The kit looked surprised by the leader's praise, but after a moment, she drew her head up shyly, joy shining in her eyes.

     “Thank you, Sharpstar,” Coal purred. The rest of SkyClan moved in again, purring their greetings to the loner family. While Coal returned their greetings with friendly replies of his own, Sasha's gaze was drawn to Shelia. The gray-and-white mate of Coal seemed less enthused than her mate to be surrounded by Clan cats. There was a sharpness to her gaze that made Sasha uneasy. When Shelia caught Sasha staring, she turned to meet her look with a challenging gaze of her own. Sasha held her gaze for a few moments, her eyes narrowed, before turning away. Maybe she was imagining things. The she-cat might just not be very friendly. But she couldn't shake the feeling of unease Shelia's gaze had given her.

     Just as the crowd started to break up, a call came from outside of the camp's entrance. “The daylight warriors are here!” Sasha looked up. Moments after the call rang out, Ebonyclaw, Harveymoon, Macgyver, and Frecklewish padded into camp. Kayleepaw and Rufuspaw bounded alongside of the older warriors, followed more slowly by Luckyleaf and Cosettecloud. Even Cassia was with them, following behind the Clan cats. All of the daylight cats headed straight towards the newcomers as they arrived.

     “Tetra! Dahlia! You're back!” Kayleepaw headed straight for her mentor's family, purring wildly as she bumped muzzles with them. “Creekfeather said you'd be coming to stay soon!”

     “Of course,” Dahlia purred. The tabby was paler than her warrior father, and she had her mother's eyes, but there was something about the way she spoke and held herself that was very similar to Creekfeather. She shoved Kayleepaw's shoulder with her own, purring, “We couldn't wait to see you bunch of mousebrains again.” Kayleepaw closed her eyes, purring gleefully. Sasha's whiskers twitched – it was no surprise that the cheery apprentice was friends with the Clan's visitors.

     Ebonyclaw came up to Shelia, purring, “Why don't we get you and your kits set up in the nursery? I'm sure my kits will love to meet them.”

     For a moment, something like disdain flashed in Shelia's eyes. She hesitated, then after a moment, gave a curt nod. “Alright,” she mewed. Ebonyclaw fell in beside Shelia, pressing against the loner's pelt as she led her and her kits towards the nursery. The rest of the crowd began to break up as well. Tetra and Creekfeather headed towards the warrior's den together, while Dahlia allowed Kayleepaw and Rufuspaw to lead her towards the fresh-kill pile, Kayleepaw chattering excitedly all the way. Stream looked a bit more awkward around all of the Clan cats, but Goldentail pressed against her sister's side, giving her a reassuring purr. After a few moments, Stream allowed her to lead her towards the warrior's den.

     “I think they're going to be busy settling in with the Clan for a while.” Sasha turned, surprised to see Shrewtooth standing beside her once again. There was a friendly gleam to the deputy's eyes. “Want to get out of camp for a while? You can meet our visitors properly later.”

     Sasha curled her tail. “Sounds good to me,” she purred. She allowed Shrewtooth to lead her out into the forest, leaving the bustling camp and its new visitors behind them. There was an instant feeling of peace being in the woods with just Shrewtooth at her side. The tom seemed to feel it too. He held himself with a much more confident air now that they were away from the camp, a happier glow in his eyes. Sasha was glad to see him recovered from his earlier dreams.

     “It's good to see Coal again,” she commented once they'd been walking for a while. “He was badly hurt when that twoleg shoved him. I did wonder what happened to him after we escaped.”

     “He's told us about the twolegs capturing him before, but he never mentioned Leafpaw or Clan cats,” Shrewtooth mewed thoughtfully. “I'm glad to hear that Clan cats helped him before, though. Coal's a good cat.”

     Sasha glanced at him curiously. “And his mate?” she asked, trying to sound casual. It had been such a small thing, but something had really bothered her about the way Shelia had been looking at the Clan cats around her. There had been... disdain, almost, in her eyes. Like all of the cats in camp were beneath her notice.

     Shrewtooth shrugged. “Shelia was with Coal the first time the Clan met him,” he told her. “She's quieter than Coal, and she can be a bit fussy about things, but she's harmless. She's just not used to living with so many cats.”

     Sasha nodded, but privately she couldn't help but wonder whether Shrewtooth was wrong about the loner. There was just something about Shelia's manner that made her suspicious. Determination hardened in her gut. She would just have to keep an eye on the loner – she couldn't let SkyClan be hurt by a cat they trusted, if Shelia really did mean trouble.

     A jolt of surprise hit her as she realized just how protective she felt about SkyClan. The thought of any cat wanting to hurt or look down on them was filling her with hard anger. Sasha paused – panic began to flutter in her gut. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to get this attached to SkyClan. She was leaving them, she had wanted to stay distant, so she couldn't be hurt by them. And yet she could feel the same protective surge for them that she had once felt as a mother, with her kits cowering behind her as the farm kittens attacked them.

     “Sasha?” Shrewtooth's mew broke Sasha out of her thoughts. She blinked, turning to the black tom. He was staring at her with a curious expression. “Are you alright?” he asked.

     She gave her head a quick shake to clear it. “Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine,” she mewed hastily.

     Shrewtooth watched her for a few moments, still seeming concerned, before blinking. “I wanted to thank you for this morning,” he mewed, changing the subject, to Sasha's relief. “I don't have nightmares like that as often as I used to, but they still happen every now and again. Thank you for being patient with me.”

     “Of course!” Sasha mewed. She flicked her tail against his flank, giving a friendly purr. “It's the least I can do, after all you've done to help me.” She paused, that feeling of anxiety pricking at her again. Her friendship with the black tom really had come to mean a lot to her, more than she would have ever guessed. Had she made a mistake in letting herself get too close to SkyClan?

     Shrewtooth flicked one ear, giving a grateful purr. “I'm glad you decided to stay for a while,” he murmured. Before Sasha could let herself be lost to worry again, he touched his nose briefly to her ear, then bounded away, mischief gleaming in his eyes. “Bet you can't catch me!” he crowed, lashing his tail joyously as his paws sent snow flying up behind him.

     Joy quickly overtook the worry in Sasha's heart. It had been so many moons since she'd let herself play such an innocent game with a good friend. “Don't count on it!” Forgetting her pride and her promises to herself for a moment, Sasha dashed after the tom, purring her laughter as they ran in the snow together. Worries about Shelia and leaving could wait until later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you I'd have the next chapter out quickly. ^^ It's a bit of a short one, but the last one was long, so I guess it balances out. :P
> 
> Here we get to see some of SkyClan's frequent visitors - and we learn more about their rules and how they differ from the other Clans. Specifically, that they allow cats to have mates outside of the Clan. It made sense to me that they would allow that, since there aren't other Clans that would result in complicated loyalties. Tetra is named after a character from the Legend of Zelda game Wind Waker, since I had just played that game when I named her and I felt like honoring it somehow. ^^ Dahlia is a name I was considering for my new cat Cassia, so I felt like including it. Stream was just because it sounded pretty. ^^
> 
> We also get to see some familiar faces in this chapter - and I'm not just talking about Coal. Do any of these cats seem familiar from somewhere else in the EOTW series? Let me know if you've figured it out. ;)
> 
> We also finally get confirmation on who all of the current daylight cats are, with Cosettecloud being confirmed as the last of the current ones. Cosettecloud is named after Cosette from Les Miserables, since I always thought that would be a very pretty name for a kittypet. Plus, I love Les Miserables and wanted to name at least one character after someone from there. ^^
> 
> I think that's all I wanted to say for this chapter. I've already started on the next chapter, so it shouldn't be too long for that one.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few days later...

Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War  
Novella 5: Sasha's Calling  
Chapter Seven

     “Ew, get away from me!”

     Sasha looked up, surprised to hear unhappy squealing from the nursery. The loner kit Storm scrambled out of the den, followed more slowly by a surprised Smokekit.

     The loner padded over. “What happened?” she demanded. “Is Storm hurt?”

     Smokekit shook his head, looking baffled. “All I did was ask if she wanted to play,” he mewed.

     Storm curled her lip. “Mama says that I shouldn't play with kits I don't know,” she sneered. “And I don't know you, or your scruffy littermates.”

     Sasha narrowed her eyes. “There's no need to be making fun of how any cat looks,” she scolded the kit. She glanced at Smokekit, adding, “And if someone doesn't want to play, you need to respect that.”

     “I do,” Smokekit insisted. “All I did was ask.”

     Sasha looked between the two kits, her eyes narrowed. “Where are your mothers?” she asked.

     “Out on patrol,” Smokekit answered.

     “That black she-cat was supposed to be looking after us, but she got distracted mooning over that gray kittypet,” Storm sniffed.

     Smokekit glared at Storm. “Birdshade is a tom, not a she-cat,” he corrected. “Though he _was_ mooning over Cosettecloud, to be fair.”

     “But he smells like a she-cat,” Storm argued.

     “Whatever he smells like, he knows he's a tom, and he lives as one,” Sasha explained to the kit. Storm opened her jaws, looking ready to argue just for the sake of it, before rolling her eyes and turning away with a snort.

     As Sasha spoke, Smokekit's littermates padded out of the nursery, eyes narrowed. “Trying to play with this mousebrain?” Sparkkit guessed, her lip curled in a sneer. “Don't even bother, Smokekit. We've been trying to play with grumpy-whiskers here for days, but she just makes fun of us.” Emberkit said nothing, but glared at Storm alongside her sister.

     The black-and-white kit scoffed, lashing her tail. “I don't play with Clan kits,” she sneered. “Clan cats have to be looked after all the time, and have all kinds of boring rules. Loners can look after themselves.” She glanced at Sasha, adding, “You get that – you're a loner, aren't you?”

     Sasha blinked in surprise. Part of her had almost forgotten her previous, lonely existence, and what it really meant to live as a loner. That was what she had to return to? But she quickly shook off those confused thoughts and focused on the kit in front of her. “No way of living is any better than any other, providing you're not hurting anyone,” she said in a stern mew. “And it's certainly not okay to make fun of other cats for the way they live. Apologize at once.”

     Anger flared in the she-kit's eyes. For a moment, Sasha thought she would refuse to obey. Then she blinked. Turning her gaze back to Ebonyclaw's kits, she muttered a quick, “Sorry,” that didn't remotely sound sincere. Before Sasha could scold her for it again, the loner bounded away back towards the nursery.

     “Stuck up furball,” Sparkkit snorted once the loner kit was gone. “She thinks she's better than us just 'cause she's already being trained by her mother to hunt.”

     Sasha stared after the loner kit, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. She hadn't seen much of the loner kits since they had come to stay with the Clan a few days ago, though their mother left the nursery sometimes to hunt. Sasha couldn't help but notice that the she-cat didn't bring back much prey during her hunts, and she always had to be asked to help with hunting, rather than volunteering herself. Though she had never said anything against the Clan that Sasha had heard, she couldn't help but remain suspicious of the loner queen. She was up to something, Sasha could feel it, and whatever it was would hurt SkyClan. She couldn't let that happen.

     “Has your mother heard Storm talking to you like that?” she asked the kits quietly.

     Emberkit shook her head, annoyance flashing in her eyes. “Storm and Patch are pretty quiet whenever the older cats are around,” she revealed. “Leaf's okay, but once the queens are gone, Storm starts talking about how useless Clans are, and Patch just goes along with whatever she says.”

     “Shelia gives us these weird looks whenever we try to play with her kits,” Smokekit added. “I don't think she likes us very much.”

     “Hmm.” Sasha watched the nursery thoughtfully for a few moments, then turned to look back down at the kits. “Well, try to keep out of Storm and Patch's way if they're just going to bother you,” she suggested. “And if they pick on you again, tell your mother.”

     The kits still looked annoyed, but they nodded their agreement before turning and padding back towards the nursery. Sasha turned away from the den and started towards the Rockpile, where Shrewtooth was handing out patrols for the day. She would have to keep an eye on the loner queen – but hunting for the Clan came first.

     Shrewtooth's gaze flicked to her as she sat with the crowd gathered before him. Something like joy flickered in his eyes at the sight of her, but the look was gone before Sasha could wonder at it very long. “Rabbitleap, I'd like you to lead the border patrol with Harrytooth, Thymeleaf, Plumwillow, and Rufuspaw,” he announced. The brown tom nodded his consent. “I will take a hunting patrol out myself, with Luckyleaf, Dawnblossom, Cosettecloud, Firelily, and Sasha.” The loner drew her head up, ears perked towards Shrewtooth at the sound of her name.

     Once Shrewtooth finished handed out the rest of the day's patrols, he rounded up his patrol and led them out into the forest. Sasha fell in beside Shrewtooth, with the rest of the patrol trailing along behind.

     “I almost didn't get out of my den this morning,” Cosettecloud mewed as the patrol trudged through the snow. There was a softness to the she-cat's appearance that contrasted with the rest of the battle-scarred warriors, but Sasha had seen her in action enough to know that she was a fine hunter and warrior. “My house folk didn't leave the window open as wide as they usually do, but I managed to squeeze out once I pushed it open a bit.”

     Luckyleaf flicked his tail. “I just meow at my house folk until they wake up if they haven't left me a way to get out,” he joked, whiskers twitching. “They grumble about it, but they always feed me and let me outside, so it must not bother them too much.” Mischief gleamed in his eyes as he added, “And if they don't get up fast enough, I just sit on one of their faces. That seems to wake them up pretty quickly.”

     Cosettecloud purred her amusement, but Sasha couldn't bring herself to join in on the fun. The daylight warriors' stories about their house folk was bringing back memories of her time with Ken and Jean. It had been so many seasons since she'd lived with her house folk, but her heart still ached with grief for them. She knew she wouldn't give up her freedom as a wild cat for anything, but she could never forget the kindness her house folk had showed her, or how much she had loved them.

     Shrewtooth glanced at her, seeming to notice her downcast mood. “Well we're glad you made it here today, Cosettecloud,” he mewed, quickly shifting the topic away from twolegs. Sasha gave him a grateful look. “It's only fair for you to have to trudge around in the freezing cold if the rest of us do,” he joked. Cosettecloud purred her amusement.

     “We'll be lucky if we get anything done today at all,” Firelily grumbled. The she-cat's thick pelt was fluffed out against the wind, which was swirling more cold air around than it had been the last few days. “If our prey has any sense, they'll be buried as deep into their dens as they can get to keep away from this cold.”

     “Then we better hope they don't have any sense,” Luckyleaf purred, his tail curling behind him. Firelily just rolled her eyes, but Dawnblossom and Cosettecloud purred in laughter.

     Suddenly, Dawnblossom paused. The tortoiseshell fell deep into a crouch, ears flicking around as though trying to locate a certain sound. She took a few steps forward, then gave a mighty leap into a thick tangle of bushes. There was a squealing sound, then silence. Dawnblossom emerged from the bushes a few moments later with a chaffinch hanging from her jaws.

     “Well caught!” Sasha praised the fluffy she-cat. Dawnblossom shook her pelt, snow and leaves from the bushes flying off in different directions as she did. Pride was glowing in her pale green eyes.

     “Thanks,” she purred. She set the chaffinch down by her paws, lifting her chin with a confident air. “Looks like we can get something done after all, Firelily,” she mewed, glancing pointedly at the ginger tabby. Firelily just rolled her eyes, though she did seem less annoyed now that prey had been caught.

     Unfortunately, further prey was not forthcoming, no matter how hard the patrol scoured the woods. Sasha kept her ears pricked for the slightest sound of prey, and the rest of the patrol were equally focused, but nothing seemed to be stirring in the snowy woods.

     Eventually, Shrewtooth called the patrol together. “I think we might have better luck if we split up into smaller groups,” he told the patrol. “Firelily and Luckyleaf, Dawnblossom and Cosettecloud, and Sasha and I. We can meet up again by the birch stump – but for now, let's try and see if prey is more willing to come out if they don't scent as many cats.” The cats around him nodded, weariness in their eyes. It had been a disappointing hunt so far – but Shrewtooth's idea seemed to give them hope. The groups quickly set off on their own, and soon Sasha was left alone with Shrewtooth.

     The black tom flicked his tail wearily. “Come on,” he murmured. His gaze softened a bit as it shifted to Sasha. “Let's see what we can catch before we have to meet up with the others.”

     Sasha nodded. She followed behind as the black tom led her through the forest. As they walked, she commented, “You shouldn't blame yourself.” The tom glanced at her, seeming surprised that she had seen through him so easily. “It's not your fault the hunting's so bad this leafbare. You can't control the weather, or our prey.”

     Shrewtooth gave a weary purr. “Thank you,” he mewed. “I know that, it's just hard not being able to do more.”

     “You're doing the best you can by hunting for them, and keeping their spirits up,” she insisted. “And no cat is better at that than you.” She flicked her tail-tip against his flank, adding, “You just need to remember to take some time for yourself now and again. You won't be of any use to your Clan if you're too worn out to go on.”

     A sigh escaped the black tom. Though he still looked weary, there was a grateful gleam in his yellow-green eyes. “I appreciate that, Sasha,” he murmured. “I'll try to keep from overdoing it.” He held his gaze on her, some emotion flickering there that Sasha didn't fully understand. “I want to thank you for how you've been helping to look after my Clan, Sasha,” he mewed, his tone unusually serious. “You've been a great friend and comfort to so many of my Clanmates, especially the younger cats and the elders. You could have left once you were healed, but you stayed and helped us hunt during this hard season. It's meant a lot to my Clanmates, I can tell – and it means a lot to me.”

     Sasha stared at the black tom, too surprised to find a fitting response. Shrewtooth was a friendly and open tom, but she had never seen such vulnerable sincerity from him. There was a gleam of fear in his eyes, as though he were afraid of what her response might be, as though he were afraid of _her._ And Sasha could feel a similar fear in her own heart. Fear of what his words meant, fear of what the warmth and longing and anxiety all twisting together in her chest at the thought of him meant, fear of what she'd gotten herself into by staying with this Clan.

     Finally, she turned her muzzle away, no longer able to meet his eyes. “Thank you,” she murmured. Shrewtooth watched her a moment longer, but when she didn't respond further, he simply looked away and continued leading them through the woods. As they walked, Sasha tried to sort through her tangled thoughts.

     She had been trying to ignore it for days, but ever since she'd agreed to stay with SkyClan, her attachment to the Clan had grown strong – but her attachment to one particular tom had grown stronger than anything else. And that had her frightened, more than she had been in a long time.

     It wasn't the first time she'd felt something for a cat beyond friendship since her first disastrous choice of mate. Russetfur had been so kind to her and her kits, and she had been the one ShadowClan cat that Sasha had trusted and grown to care about above all others, to the point where her feelings for the deputy had been deeper than just friends. Her grief for Tadpole hadn't kept her from noticing the beautiful sheen of Leopardstar's pelt once she'd moved into RiverClan, or the confidence with which she'd led her Clan. Her feelings for the loner Pine had even taken a deeper turn when she'd moved in with him briefly after leaving RiverClan, though sickness had claimed him before she could begin to explore those feelings more deeply.

     But in all of those cases, Sasha had turned away before anything too serious could develop between her and the other cat. Whenever she had tried to find love in her life, any kind of love, a certain dark cloud had always loomed over her and reminded her of just how much she had to lose. _Tigerstar._ Even all of these seasons later, her heart ached with love for him, and with the pain of his betrayal. His cruel actions had not only led to her losing him, but losing their kits as well, and any chance of having a home among the Clans.

     Shrewtooth was nothing like Tigerstar, or any of the hardened warriors she'd cast her eye towards before. He was on the smaller side, with a scruffy, lanky appearance, and there was a gentleness to his bearing that contrasted with what Sasha usually pursued. But in all of the time she had known him, he had shown a compassion for others and a dedication to his Clan that Tigerstar could never have hoped to achieve. He truly, deeply cared for those around him, and his work as deputy wasn't to further his own ambitions, but to serve the family he loved in the best way that he could. It was that caring and that sensitivity to the needs of his Clan that had brought Sasha to care for him so much.

     And there was something more – ever since that first nightmare, she had seen little glimpses of the trauma he'd spoke of, little cracks in the facade. This was a cat who had known hurt and loss, just as she had. But he didn't turn his anger on the world. He used his hurt to try and keep others from going through what he had, choosing kindness over anger or bitterness. She admired that more than she cared to admit, and she had come to look forward to their hunts together, the times they got to play and joke and forget their hurt for a while, more than anything.

     But even as her attraction to him deepened, her fear increased. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to get attached to any SkyClan cats, let alone start falling in love with one. She had known love before, and it had betrayed her and left her broken. Every cat she had let herself care about had left her in some way or other. How could she let herself love Shrewtooth the way she had let herself love before? How could she even consider it? Hadn't she been hurt enough for one life? Nothing was worth feeling that pain again. Not even him.

     Sasha was distracted from her dark thoughts by a nearby rustling. She fell immediately into a hunting crouch, Shrewtooth staying back as she crept along the snow and past a cluster of ferns. The she-cat readied herself to pounce on her prey – only to freeze in surprise when she realized it hadn't been prey that had made the noise that alerted her. It was Shelia.

     Suspicion immediately flared in the loner's mind. Shelia was a few fox-lengths away from her, and didn't seem to notice Sasha. A squirrel hung from her jaws. Her expression was one of determination, and her pace was brisk as she trotted through the snow. She was clearly going somewhere specific. Her hard expression sent fear sparking through Sasha's pelt. Whatever Shelia was going to do, it was going to be bad for SkyClan, she could feel it in her heart.

     The she-cat stayed low and silent, stalking the other loner like prey as she made her way through the forest. Shelia quickly made her way past the thicker part of the forest, the trees beginning to thin out around her and Sasha as the loner crept along after her. Confusion sparked through Sasha as the loner queen passed out of SkyClan territory entirely and headed straight towards Twolegplace. Shelia padded into the tangle of thunderpaths and dens, keeping to the twoleg paths as she traveled through twolegplace. Sasha kept to the shadows of the fences, keeping well back so as not to be spotted.

     Her confusion only grew as Shelia headed straight to a fence behind one of the dens. Sasha stiffened in fear as loud, throaty barking sounded from behind the fence. From the sound of the creature, it had to be massive. Rather than showing fear at the sound, Shelia headed straight to the fence. Horror spiked in Sasha's heart as the queen padded along the fence line until she reached a section of fence that was rotted away. She watched, frozen in horror, as the queen began to dig at the earth under the fence. There was a snuffling sound, then two massive paws appeared at the hole in the fence, digging fervently at the spot where the hole was. Shelia struck out at the paws with her claws, then leaped back as the dog howled in pain. “Mangy brute!” Shelia spat.

     Sasha watched as Shelia left the dog to its digging, then lowered her squirrel to the ground, rubbing it against the snow as she walked away from the fence. The queen clawed at the squirrel a bit, causing a few drops of scarlet blood to fall onto the snow behind her as she went.

     Horrible understanding finally crashed over Sasha. _She's leaving a trail for the dog,_ she realized, horror coursing through every hair on her pelt. _And it's leading back to SkyClan!_

     The second that Shelia was out of sight, Sasha broke into a run, snow spraying up behind her as she hurtled towards the forest as fast as her paws could carry her. She took a different route than Shelia had on the way there, racing as quickly as she could towards the birch stump. Someone had to stop Shelia, but she couldn't do this alone. She was going to need SkyClan's help.

     Shrewtooth and the rest of the patrol were already gathered by the birch stump by the time Sasha finally reached it. They whirled around, looking stunned at the panicked state of the loner. Shrewtooth was at her side in an instant. “Are you okay? What's wrong?” he demanded. “I couldn't find you after you went through those ferns.”

     Sasha was gasping for air, her legs trembling with the effort of her run, but she knew there was no time to waste. “You... you have to come with me!” she gasped out. “Shelia's betrayed the Clan!”

     Shrewtooth's eyes widened in shock, and the rest of the patrol looked at each other with stunned expressions. “Shelia's betrayed us?” Cosettecloud repeated, her mew trembling. “Why would she do that? She's been a friend to our Clan for seasons.”

     Firelily narrowed her eyes. “We've known Shelia much longer than we've known you,” she pointed out in a low growl. She took a step towards Sasha, her hackles beginning to bristle. “Why should we trust you over her?”

     Desperation coursed through Sasha. “I can prove it!” she insisted. “Please, just trust me, I can show you. But we have to hurry!”

     A storm of emotions was battling in Shrewtooth's eyes. Sasha forced herself to met his gaze, her heart lurching inside of her. _Please, believe me,_ she prayed silently as she locked eyes with the tom she'd come to care about. _I couldn't bear it if you thought I was lying._

     After a moment, determination hardened in Shrewtooth's eyes. He took a step towards Sasha, dipping his head to her. “Lead the way,” he mewed simply.

     “We're behind you, Sasha,” Dawnblossom added, though her tone was subdued. The entire patrol seemed stunned and hurt at the idea of a friend possibly having betrayed them.

      _Thank StarClan._ “Come on!” she hissed. Sasha spun around, not waiting to see if the patrol would follow as she took off into the forest. Shrewtooth fell in beside Sasha, the rest of the cats following closely behind. There was no sound but the scuff of paws against snow, and the howl of the wind. Every cat was grimly silent as they headed for their destination.

     Sasha led the patrol straight to the border with twolegplace. A grim sense of satisfaction filled her when they broke past the trees and found Shelia just over the border, still spilling drops of squirrel blood along behind her. The loner queen froze up in shock as the patrol burst out of cover and surrounded her. “What in the world... what is the meaning of this?” Shelia hissed, arching her back as she faced the SkyClan cats.

     Shrewtooth's gaze flitted to the squirrel that Shelia had dropped at her paws, then back to the spots of blood in the snow behind her. “What are you doing with that prey?” he asked, his mew carefully neutral.

     “None of your business!” the queen snapped, scooping the squirrel closer to her with one paw. “I caught it myself, so I can do what I want with it!” The loner had always been neutral in her dealings with the Clan cats, even friendly on occasion, but now her facade had slipped. Sasha could see the true disdain and anger beneath it all.

     Surprise flashed in Luckyleaf's eyes. “No you didn't,” he mewed, sounding puzzled. “I saw Plumwillow bring that squirrel back into camp earlier this morning.” He peered closer at the squirrel, adding uneasily, “It even has the same scar on its flank.” Every cat's gaze sharpened, and even Firelily was glaring her suspicion at Shelia now.

     Fear flashed in Shelia's eyes, but a moment later it was replaced by anger once more. “Are you calling me a liar?” she demanded. “How dare you!”

     Shrewtooth took another step towards Shelia, his voice harder now with anger. “I'll ask you again – what were you doing with this squirrel?” he growled. Shelia's ears flattened against her head, and she glared hotly at Shrewtooth, but said nothing in reply.

     Sasha came to stand beside Shrewtooth, glaring at the treacherous loner. “There's a dog in twolegplace with a hole in its fence,” she explained. The queen turned a furious glare on Sasha. “I saw Shelia help dig under the hole to give the dog more room to get out, then she laid a trail of squirrel blood from the dog's nest to here.”

     Horror flared in the eyes of all of the Clan cats. Cosettecloud's pelt fluffed out with terror, and Luckyleaf stared at Shelia with hurt and anger in his eyes, but Firelily and Dawnblossom just glared hatred at her. “A dog!” Cosettecloud gasped. “Is it coming now?” She looked all around herself, as though expecting the dog to leap out of the undergrowth at any moment.

     “I don't think so,” Sasha mewed. “There was a hole there for it to get out, but it didn't look big enough yet. I don't think it can get out.”

     Relief glowed in Shrewtooth's eyes for a moment, but it was quickly replaced by anger again. He bared his fangs at the queen, demanding, “Is this true?”

     For a moment, Shelia looked uncertain, before her face twisted back into a sneer. “I have nothing to say to you,” she hissed. “Clan filth.”

     Shrewtooth's expression became one of grim anger. “Firelily, Luckyleaf, make sure the prisoner doesn't escape on our way back to camp,” he hissed. The warriors nodded, coming to stand on either side of the loner queen. Shelia glared furiously at her captors, but when Firelily spat at her to get her moving, she seemed to realize that she had no choice. Cosettecloud picked up Shelia's squirrel as the rest of the patrol headed off towards camp together.

     Sasha glanced at Shrewtooth as she walked beside him. While the tom's expression was tight with anger, there was also a glow of hurt in his eyes. “I'm sorry that Shelia betrayed the Clan,” she murmured. Shrewtooth glanced at her in surprise. “I know she was your friend.”

     “It's not your fault,” Shrewtooth mewed back in a low tone. Even through his anger, he managed to gave a low, raspy purr. “Thank you for warning us. We never would have seen her plan coming without you.”

     Warmth fluttered in Sasha's chest. She had to keep from purring as she and Shrewtooth walked together, though a serious mood quickly took over again as they neared the camp.

     Murmurs of confusion rose from the cats in camp as Shrewtooth led the patrol in. They could clearly tell something was going on, with Luckyleaf and Firelily standing beside Shelia the way they were, and Shelia glaring hatred at everyone. Brindlestorm scrambled straight up to her father's den, emerging with him a few moments later.

     Sharpstar descended down into the gorge, swarming quickly onto the top of the Rockpile. The rest of the Clan gathered below it, making room for Shrewtooth and his patrol at the base of the pile. “Shrewtooth, what is this?” Sharpstar demanded.

     The black tom came to stand before the Rockpile, dipping his head to his leader. “Sharpstar, I present you with Shelia, who we took as our prisoner after we learned of her betrayal.” Gasps of horror rang out from the crowd. Coal quickly pushed his way past the other cats to stand beside his mate, horror and confusion blazing in his eyes, and his kits followed quickly after him. Shrewtooth turned to Sasha, gesturing her forward with his tail. “Sasha, explain everything you told us to Sharpstar.”

     Sasha met Sharpstar's gaze evenly, even as the leader glared down in anger at the cats gathered before him. In a clear tone, she told him and the rest of the Clan exactly what Shelia had done. Coal seemed frozen in horror, his eyes growing wider with every word out of Sasha's mouth. Leaf was staring at her mother in horror, but Storm and Patch just huddled closer to her, their hackles bristling. When Sasha finally finished explaining, Sharpstar shifted his gaze to the loner in question. “Is all of this true, Shelia?” he demanded. The leader's tone was icy and calm, but hard anger smoldered in his eyes. His calm tone didn't hide the fact that the leader was _furious._

     “It can't be true,” Coal mewed before his mate could speak. The tom was beginning to tremble now. “Shelia would never do anything like that. She... it just can't be true!”

     “Shelia?” Sharpstar prompted, ignoring Coal entirely.

     The queen jerked her chin up, icy pride and anger glowing in her eyes. “You've all clearly already made up your minds about it,” she hissed. “If your precious deputy hates me, there's no point in trying to change the rest of your minds. You'll just blindly go along with whatever your leaders say. That's what makes Clans like you so pathetic and _weak!_ None of you can think for yourselves!”

     Furious snarls broke out at the loner's words. The crowd was working itself into a frenzy, snarling and screeching their hatred at the cat they had thought was their friend. Sasha could see hurt and anger mixing together in all of their eyes, twisting together into a heated rage. Even Coal was gaping at his mate now, horror and realization blazing together in his eyes. “You... you really... how _could_ you?” he gasped.

     Shelia whirled on her mate, spitting her fury at the black tom. “Oh, of course you don't understand!” she snarled in his face. “You may be a loner, but you're as spineless as these Clan cats, you always have been!” Coal flinched from her words, misery glowing in his eyes. Shelia turned her glare back to Sharpstar, calling up to him, “This forest is rich with prey, yet you Clan cats hog it all for yourselves, forcing cats to bow and scrape at your paws before they have the right to hunt here. It makes me sick how you cater to the weak and let them eat, while the strong go hungry. Any cat who's strong enough to hunt for themselves should have the right to this forest.” She brought her chin up, hissing, “I admit I left a trail for that mangy mutt. I'm _proud_ of it! It's about time someone taught you Clan brats a lesson about how things work in the real world!”

     “Very well.” Every word came out with the frost of leafbare. Sharpstar glared icy hatred down at Shelia, making his words strong and clear enough for every cat to hear. “Shelia, I hereby exile you from SkyClan's territory forever. You are no loner welcome inside of our borders. Any cat who sees you on our territory after sunhigh today is to drive you off, or take you prisoner.” His eyes flashed with a dangerous light as he added, “And if you ever do come here again, I won't let you off so easily again. If you are determined to be a danger to my Clan, the penalty will be death.”

     For the briefest moment, fear flashed in Shelia's gone. Then it was gone. “Fine,” she hissed. “Have it your way. I hope all of you Clan cats wind up as dog food. It's what you fools deserve.” She reached her muzzle down, snapping her jaws over Leaf's scruff before the kit had time to react. “Let's go,” she snarled around a mouthful of fur.

     The loner queen began padding away, the crowd parting silently to let her through. Leaf wriggled in her mother's jaws, her eyes wide with horror, but she didn't make a sound of protest as her mother carried her away. Storm and Patch followed after their mother after only a moment of hesitation. Coal stayed where he was, frozen in horror, watching as his mate bounded across the rocks and out of camp.

     Sharpstar's gaze flicked over to Coal. “If you didn't know what your mate was planning, then you are welcome to stay here,” he said in a gruff mew.

     Coal hesitated, staring up at the leader with wide eyes. Sasha was shaken by the depths of the misery in his eyes. “I...” After a moment, he gave himself a quick shake. “No. Thank you, Sharpstar. But I can't leave my kits,” he rasped. Without another word, he turned and began trudging after his mate. In a matter of moments, he too was gone, and the stunned SkyClan was left to themselves.

     Shocked murmurs sprang up from the crowd the moment the loners were gone. Sasha could see the SkyClan cats looking at each other in stunned horror, trying to reason how this happened, how they'd been so fooled. Her heart ached for them – Shelia's betrayal had clearly cut them deep.

     “Silence!” The murmurs of the crowd fell away at Sharpstar's call. Every cat turned their attention to their leader. Sharpstar's hackles were still bristling with lingering anger, but there was a softer glow in his eyes as he continued, “What has happened today is a blow to our Clan. But it could have been far worse had one cat not seen the danger in time and warned us.”

     Sasha stiffened in surprise as the leader's gaze fell to her, the rest of SkyClan following suit. “Sasha, SkyClan owes you a great debt of thanks,” he rumbled. Gratitude was glowing in the tom's eyes. “You have acted again and again in SkyClan's defense. What you have done for us cannot be repaid.”

     A cheer rose up from the crowd, quickly growing in strength as more cats joined the call. “Sasha! Sasha! Sasha!” The she-cat was stunned to see so many of the SkyClan cats she'd come to call friends cheering her name with joy shining in their eyes. Frecklewish quickly came to Sasha's side, purring wildly as she touched her nose to her ear, and Shrewtooth was calling Sasha's name with the rest of them, joy shining in his eyes. She hadn't realized the Clan had come to care for her so much, but as she listened to them cheer for her, a warm feeling of joy burned in her chest. It almost felt like having a family again.

     Sharpstar allowed the cheer to continue for a while, then lashed his tail for silence. He waited until every cat was quiet again to continue. “In view of everything that you have done for our Clan, there is only one thing I can do,” he rumbled.

     He drew his head up proudly, calling out for every cat to hear, “Sasha, as leader of SkyClan, I ask you to join my Clan as a warrior.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is, the big offer, finally. :D I've been waiting to get to this chapter for a while. I wrote this one rather quickly, but I'm still pretty happy with it, even it if it is much longer than I intended. :P Eh, last chapter was rather short, so I guess it works.
> 
> So here we find out exactly what Shelia was up to. Looks like Sasha was right to be suspicious.
> 
> No one's guessed who the cats are in last chapter that are cameos from other books in EOTW. I'd really like to see someone guess it, so I won't reveal who it was here - but I will say, try looking at the names of some of the newcomers from last chapter, and see who looks familiar. ;)
> 
> I think that's all I wanted to say for this chapter. It was acutally supposed to have more in it, but it was getting way too wrong already. I'll fit that stuff in the next chapter. :P
> 
> Also Sasha is pansexusl in EOTW because I say so. ^^ I know that not everyone ships some of the Sasha ships I mention in the chapter, but I’ve always liked Russet/Sasha and Pine/Sasha, and some recent videos have warmed me up to Leopard/Sasha, so I decided to make her canonically interested in all of them here. ^^
> 
> She just never got farther than that initial interest with any of them - except for Russet, she felt something deeper and stronger for her, but she was still too hurt over Tigerstar and worried over her kits to let herself pursue it. Trans Birdshade gets a mention too, because I wanted to mention his identity at least once in the actual text.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha answers Sharpstar's offer...

Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War  
Novella 5: Sasha's Calling  
Chapter Eight

     Sasha froze in shock. Stunned disbelief coursed through every hair on her pelt. She could feel her legs starting to tremble underneath of her – it took all of her self-control to remain standing.

      _“I ask you to join my Clan as a warrior.”_ The words banged around in Sasha's head, distorting and stretching as she tried to wrap her mind around just what she'd heard. She'd grown close with SkyClan, yes. She'd allowed herself to be reluctantly nudged into every suggestion, staying longer, going on patrols, moving into the warrior's den, and she'd come to know each SkyClan cat like they were kin. But still, somehow, she would have never seen this question coming. Not this time. Not after so long.

     All around her, the cats of SkyClan were watching her, waiting to hear her answer. Everywhere she looked, acceptance and joy were shining in their eyes. Ebonyclaw's kits were squealing their joy from their spot near the nursery, while their mother looked on with an approving nod. Bouncefire's eyes were gleaming with the same approval from where he stood nearby. Frecklewish pressed against Sasha's side, purring her encouragement, while Clovertail and Petalnose blinked their joy at her nearby. Graypaw, Blizzardpaw, and even the shy Softpaw were purring loudly, staring at the loner with joy in their eyes. And Shrewtooth, the tom she'd come to care for so dearly, there was a deep well of joy and warmth and maybe even love in his eyes as he stared at her. Above all, his eyes were blazing bright with hope.

     There was a panicked fluttering in Sasha's heart. This was everything she'd ever dreamed of having when she had first fallen in love with Tigerstar. A Clan that wanted her. Warriors who saw her as their own. A wonderful, caring tom who cared about her, and might even love her. She had the friendship and approval of SkyClan's cats, and she was finally being offered a home with cats who cared about her. It was everything she had ever wanted.

     It was all too much.

     “No!” Everyone flinched away in surprise at the loner's outburst. Sasha scrambled back, her entire pelt trembling, eyes wide with panic. Shrewtooth took a step towards her, looking concerned, but she flinched away from his approach. “I-I can't. I can't join SkyClan.”

     “Why not?” Sparkkit demanded in a petulant wail. “You'd make a great warrior, and then you could tell us stories and you could show us more hunting moves!”

     “I can't. I just can't.” Panic was overwhelming her. Her chest was closing in on itself, her breath short, her head swimming. Everything suddenly felt too bright, too noisy. She couldn't stay where she was.

     Sasha took a step back, her legs shaking badly underneath her. “I... I'm sorry, Sharpstar,” she rasped out, just managing to string her words together through her panic. “I thank you for your kindness this past moon. But I can't stay. I don't belong here. I... I have to go. I have to go now.”

     Cries of shock rose from the crowd as Sasha spun around and bounded away from the Rockpile. “Sasha! Wait!” Sharpstar called after her, surprise and concern in his usually stoic tone.

     “Where are you going?” Frecklewish cried after her.

     But Sasha ignored them all. She blocked out the stunned, hurt cries of the cats behind her as she bounded over the rocks and out of camp, leaving her first real home in seasons behind her. Her panicked mind wouldn't let her rest even once the camp was behind her. She just kept running, and running, her mind racing with hurt, confused thoughts too tangled to sort through. All she knew was that she had to put as much distance between herself and SkyClan as possible. It was the only way to keep the hurt from growing.

     “Sasha!” The surprise of hearing his voice behind her finally snapped Sasha out of her stunned haze. She slowed to a halt, turning to face the black tom that stood behind her. Hurt was glowing in his eyes, but the concern that lined his face outweighed it. “Are you alright?” Shrewtooth asked. “You're shaking.” He made a move to approach, but when she backed away, eyes wide, he stopped.

     “I...” Sasha couldn't find the words to say what she was feeling. All of the warmth and possibly love she had ever felt for him was mixing together with a terrible, twisting agony at the thought of leaving him, and the horrible fear of what it would mean if she didn't. Finally, she ducked her head, her legs and tail trembling wildly. “I can't stay here, Shrewtooth,” she whispered. “I'm not like your Clanmates. I... I can't trust cats the way you all trust each other. It's just too much... I don't belong here.” A miserable mew escaped her. “I don't belong anywhere. I have to be alone.”

     When she finally dared to look up at Shrewtooth's face again, she could see the raw hurt and longing twisting together in his expression. He took a deep, shuddering breath, his own tail trembling lightly behind him. “I'm not going to see you again, am I?” he breathed. Sasha could hardly bear to hear the grief in his mew.

     “It's for the best,” she whispered.

     Shrewtooth stared at her for a long time, misery glowing in his eyes, before he let out a small sigh. Sasha stiffened as the tom approached her – only to relax as he merely gave her cheek a single, gentle lick. “You're an extraordinary cat, Sasha,” he murmured. The tom's breath tickled her cheek fur when he spoke. He pulled back, gazing at her with a storm of emotions in his eyes. “Thank you for helping my Clan. I wish things could be different – but I would never make you stay if that's not what you want.”

     Sasha's heart twisted in agony inside of her. _I do want you,_ she thought, a lump forming in her throat as she looked at the brave, kind tom who had done so much to help her. _But it's too much to bear. I just can't._

     Without another word, she turned and began trudging away, unable to bear looking at the misery in Shrewtooth's eyes any longer. He stayed where he was, watching her leave, until Sasha had disappeared into the undergrowth. Even once she'd passed out of SkyClan territory entirely, she could still feel his eyes on her, though she had left him far behind. She could still see his misery and hurt playing over and over in her mind.

     Once she had left SkyClan's border behind her, Sasha headed straight for the den she'd made before they'd taken her in. Even in her fever-induced haze, Sasha had managed to hide there the one thing she had from the time when her life was happy. It had stayed there all the time that she was in SkyClan. She quickly made her way to the bramble bush she'd used as a den, and began pulling away branches and scooping away snow and leaves, until she had finally unearthed what she had been looking for.

     The collar's pale pink color was nearly impossible to see after so many seasons. Dirt and grime and wear had turned her once beautiful collar into a grungy, tattered mess. The bell no longer rang, as too much dirt and mud had found its way into the crevices, and the thing was so torn and tattered that it could never be worn again. But it was as dear to Sasha as the day Ken and Jean had first slipped it onto her neck.

     Sasha settled herself into the shelter of the bramble bush, laying on one side with the branches intertwining over her and offering her shade from the midday sun. Her entire body was shaking with grief – she lay on the ground, curling her paw around the collar and drawing it close to her chest, desperate to draw some comfort from the memories it carried. But there was no comfort to be had now. All of the memories that swarmed her mind now were of the pain and loss she had suffered since losing her house folk, and just how much it had beaten her down.

     Her eyes closed, hurt aching in her chest. _I miss you, Tigerstar,_ she thought. The loner whimpered, curling in tighter on herself. _StarClan help me, I still love you. But feeling like this makes me wish I never set eyes on you._

     With a heart heavy with misery, and a mind swimming with regret, Sasha surrendered herself to a dark and fitful sleep.

**SCENEBREAK**

     Days went by in a dull blur after Sasha left SkyClan. She had meant to put as much distance between herself and the Clan as possible, but somehow, she just couldn’t bring herself to go very far. She settled for keeping her den outside of the territory and keeping away from its borders while she hunted, while still staying close enough to feel its presence. Every night, she scaled an ash tree near her den and stared out into the growing darkness, wondering what the SkyClan cats were doing and whether they were thinking of her.

     The she-cat was by now more than strong enough to survive alone, but her life as a loner seemed even more hollow and empty than she had remembered. The endless silence once filled by the voices of her kind battered at her ears and assaulted her senses. Every time she turned to ask Frecklewish a question or tell a joke to Ebonyclaw’s kits, there would be no cat there, and she felt their absence like a blow to her heart.

     Part of her was frustrated with her own regret. This was the life she had chosen. She’d _wanted_ this. Yes, SkyClan had been kind, and yes Shrewtooth had come to be dearer to her than she ever would have guessed. But she knew what Clans were like. She’d been drawn in before, and each time, they’d taken everything she loved from her before casting her aside. She knew not all Clans were selfish or cruel - Leopardstar had been a fair, if strict leader, and she could’ve made a home in RiverClan. But even though he was dead and gone, the shadow of Tigerstar still stretched far enough over her to take that happiness away from her too. If she had stayed with SkyClan, something would have happened, and she would have ended up alone again. At least this time it was her choice - even if that choice left her feeling empty inside.

     A quarter moon after leaving SkyClan, Sasha woke to feel a heavy weight pressing down on her pelt. She started awake, panic flooding her, only to calm as she realized it wasn’t any living creature pining their weight against her. It had started snowing when she’d gone to sleep the night before, and the wind was blowing even more fiercely now, carrying thick sheets of snow and ice across the forest and to the ground. The weight she felt was the thick layer of snow that had settled atop her den and was pressing the branches of the bush low against her back

     The loner struggled free of her den, only to be blasted by fierce gusts of wind and ice. Her pelt fluffed out in alarm. Last night’s gentle snowfall had turned into a full, raging blizzard. The cold stung at her eyes and made every breath painful, chilling her all the way through to her bone.

     Fear flooded her as she struggled against the wind tugging at her - but not just fear for herself. Her treacherous mind went racing straight back to the gorge she’d left behind, and the cats that lived there. How would SkyClan cope with this blizzard when prey was already so scarce? After a moment, though, she gave herself a violent shake, forcing those thoughts away. She couldn’t spend the rest of her life worrying about SkyClan. She’d left them. She should focus on her own survival, not that of cats she would never see again.

     With that sorted, Sasha turned her mind to her own situation. She needed to eat, but not freezing to death was the greater concern. Perhaps it would be better to stay in her den for the day. But when she turned around to return to her den, she was halted by the sight of the bramble bush, which was crushed flat against the ground by the weight of the snow. Her pelt prickled with unease. After a moment, however, she turned and began padding briskly away. She would just have to find another den later. For now, she would hunt.

     But she had no better luck with that than she’d had with returning to her den. All of the prey in the forest seemed to have been scared into their dens by the storm. All of the preyscent was muffled by the thick blankets of snow. Everywhere Sasha turned, the only sight to see was the swirling sheets of snow, and the only sound to hear was the shrieking wind. There seemed to be no other living thing in the woods beside herself.

     The she-cat neared an oak tree, nosing despondently around its roots for any sign of prey. _I wonder whether the kits are warm enough in the nursery,_ the treacherous voice in her head mewed.

      _Poor Crowdusk must be freezing today, with that patchy coat of hers,_ it added as she chased a rustling sound under a bush, only to find it had been caused by a half-broken branch waving wildly in the wind.

     The voice whispered, _Billystorm’s gotten so thin, he might not survive a cold like this,_ as she scraped snow aside to drink from a half-frozen stream, every lap of water like icy claws on her tongue.

      _Stop it!_ Sasha shook her head, a growl forming in her throat. _I left SkyClan behind! They can take care of themselves._ As much as she tried to convince herself, however, she couldn’t banish the worry that sat like a weight in her belly. Every time she tried to focus on hunting, her mind would turn back to SkyClan, some new worry about how the blizzard was effecting them cropping up in her head.

     Finally, Sasha came to a halt, bracing herself against the freezing wind as she tried to sort through her conflicting emotions. She couldn’t just run back and forth between SkyClan and her life as a loner. She wasn’t like the daylight warriors. If she let herself slip, she would be back in for good. She couldn’t let that happen. She knew all too well how it would end.

     But something inside of her resisted. This wasn’t like the other times. Her stay in ShadowClan had been too brief to get to know anyone other than Russetfur well, and she’d been so focused on her kits while in RiverClan that she hadn’t really been able to grow close to anyone. SkyClan was different. She _knew_ these cats. She’d fought against it as hard as she could, but she’d come to care for them, to love them like kin. That couldn’t be pushed away as easily as her brief acquaintance with ShadowClan and RiverClan.

     The loner shivered as the wind buffeted against her. She had been standing in place for a while, frozen in place by indecision. Fear was still keeping her back. She’d been hurt so badly before. Tigerstar’s betrayal had taken everything from her, even when she’d been determined to live her life without him, he’d still managed to tear everything down and leave her alone. These cats had never even met Tigerstar, and she was still letting fear of him control her.

     But as much as she tried to ignore it, she cared about the cats of SkyClan. It wasn’t just a few regrets she would be leaving behind this time - it was a Clan that had, despite her resistance, become like family to her. That couldn’t be ignored, and for the first time, she wondered if maybe it shouldn’t be. Maybe there really was something worth going back for. That fear wouldn't let go of her heart, not even after all of this time, but maybe, just maybe, there was something worth risking feeling that loss again.

     After several more moments of silent, conflicted thought, Sasha finally started forward again. She turned herself towards SkyClan’s territory and forced her paws to keep her moving that way. Her gut was still twisted with fear, and her mind was no more made up than it had been when she started. All that she knew for sure was that she could no longer stand by in the storm while SkyClan could be suffering - even if she wasn’t ready to greet them openly.

      Sasha waited until she was near the border, then scrambled quickly up the first tree she could find. She hauled herself up onto a higher branch and paused. The bark was sleek with snow under her claws, and the snow made it hard to dig her claws in to keep her balance, but the branch she’d chosen was strong enough to hold her weight and the snow without swaying.

      She narrowed her eyes, scanning the tangle of treetops and branches that she had found herself in. Then she launched herself off of her branch, reaching out with her claws to catch onto a branch on the tree ahead of her. Her training from the last moon kicked in - she hauled herself swiftly onto the branch once she had her grip, then immediately scanned for the next branch to aim at, before taking off again. The snow made the branches more slippery than usual, and she had to take it slow, but she was able to travel from tree to tree without touching the ground at all.

      The thick snow flying all around her made it hard to see from one tree to the next, let alone all the way to the ground. But when she finally arrived at one of the popular hunting spots in SkyClan, she was able to spot exactly what she’d been looking for. A group of five cats were struggling through the snow beneath her. A tangle of emotions spiked through her when she saw Shrewtooth heading the patrol. He and his Clanmates looked weary and battered from the storm, but no thinner than they’d been when she’d left.

     “Fox dung! We haven’t found so much as a mouse out here!” Sasha had to strain her ears to hear Thymeleaf's yowl above the shrieking wind. “We're going to freeze to death out here before we find any prey.”

     Harrytooth's voice sounded next, his mew weary. “Shrewtooth, I think we should turn back. We're not going to last long in this cold.”

     Sasha felt a thrill of joy when she heard Shrewtooth's voice. “The Clan needs to eat tonight,” he reminded Harrytooth. The deputy sounded exhausted, and Sasha knew she wasn't imagining the hitch of grief in his mew. Something tightened in her throat. _He misses me._ “We'll go back soon, but we need to stay out a little longer. We should try to have something to bring back to camp.”

     As the patrol passed Sasha's tree and began padding away from it, their voices were lost to the howl of the wind. Sasha waited on her branch for a few moments, thinking over what she'd heard. Then she turned away with a sigh. SkyClan was struggling, but they would get through this storm without her. She should go.

     The loner began heading back towards the border by hopping tree branches again. Before she could reach the border, however, she was distracted by something moving below her. She came to a halt, resting on a thick oak branch as she peered through the swirling snow.

     Her blood ran cold when she finally made out the shape through the snow. A huge black-and-brown animal with a sharp muzzle and pointed ears was prowling through the forest. Its shaggy pelt clung close to its bones, and there were scrapes along its back and neck, but the hard muscle that rippled under its pelt spoke of its strength. Sasha dug her claws into the tree bark, her head suddenly light with fear. _A dog!_

     The horrible truth dawned on Sasha as she stared at the brute's massive paws. She had seen those paws before, when Shelia had been digging a hole under the fence of a twoleg den. It was the dog that Shelia had been trying to free – and her efforts had paid off. The scratches on his back were probably from squeezing under the fence, and from how thin he was, he'd probably been loose in the forest for a few days. He probably hadn't had much to eat since leaving his twolegs. As Sasha watched, frozen in horror, the dog snuffled at the snow for a few moments before turning and padding the other way.

     In the same direction Shrewtooth's patrol had gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, looks like Sasha's not willing to join a Clan, even after all this time. But she still can't put SkyClan out of her mind. ^^
> 
> Since a few people guessed it, I'll finally reveal which of the characters in this novella are returning characters from other EOTW books. The cameo cats are in fact Storm and Patch, Shelia's kits. Storm and Patch appear in Waning Moon, Trail of Ashes, Code of the Forest, and Silent Sacrifice. They are part of Breeze's group, and Storm eventually becomes Sol's mate.
> 
> I wanted at least one connection, however small, to this novella and the rest of the EOTW universe to sort of justify it being in EOTW canon, and I thought showing how Storm and Patch came to dislike the Clans in the first place would be interesting to explore and a good way to connect to the rest of EOTW. And hey, looks like both Sol and Storm hate SkyClan. That's probably part of how Sol won her over.
> 
> The dog in this chapter is also a german shepherd because I felt like it. :P I wanted a breed that could be used as a guard dog that wasn't a pit bull because pit bulls already get a bad rep as it is.
> 
> I think that's all I wanted to say here. It shouldn't be too long until the next chapter. ^^


	10. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's no time to waste...

Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War  
Novella 5: Sasha's Calling  
Chapter Nine

      _They're in danger!_

     Sasha wasted no time. She spun around, pointing herself in the direction of Shrewtooth's patrol, then launched herself onto a branch of a tree in front of her. The loner bounded from tree to tree, no longer allowing herself to hesitate as she had before. She had to get to Shrewtooth's patrol _now,_ before the dog got to them first.

     Her flight through the snowy trees nearly made her slip more than once, but it finally brought her to where she needed to be. The hazy shape of five cats trudging through the snow finally appeared beneath the branches. “Shrewtooth!” she yowled. Before the tom could react to his name being called, Sasha hopped down to a lower branch, then hurtled down to the ground, landing clumsily in the snow in front of the patrol. She meant to land on her paws, but slipped onto her shoulder in the snow.

     Groaning, the loner looked up to see five familiar faces staring down at her in shock. And none was more surprised than Shrewtooth himself. “Sasha?” he gasped. His eyes were wide as moons, shock and disbelief and raw hope blazing together in his eyes. “What... how...?”

     “You came back!” Honeyflower cried, cutting the deputy off. The she-cat's eyes were shining with joy as she bounded forward, touching her nose to Sasha's head with a purr.

     Rabbitleap and Thymeleaf mostly just looked stunned that she was there, while Harrytooth took a step forward, concern glowing in his eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked as the loner struggled to her paws. “You look like you've seen a nest of rats!”

     “Not rats...” the loner panted, trying to catch her breath after her race through the trees. Her pelt bristled with terror. Every moment wasted was a moment that brought the terrible jaws of the dog closer. “A dog! A huge dog!”

     Every cat instantly stiffened in horror. “Dog? Where?” The patrol shifted into a defensive circle, facing out with their backs to each other, ready to take on the threat from any direction.

     “Close,” Sasha gasped. “Very close! We have to climb, now!” Rabbitleap stiffened, and Shrewtooth glanced at him. “There's no time to waste!”

     Before any cat could respond, a growl sounded over the howling of the wind. Two brown eyes gleamed at them through the sheets of swirling snow. Time seemed to freeze. Sasha stared at the dog, frozen in place by her terror.

     “Run!” Shrewtooth's yowl snapped time back into place. The dog lunged at the patrol, cats scattering in each direction as its jaws snapped at empty air. Sasha fell in beside Shrewtooth, pelt against pelt as they flew together across the snow. Shrewtooth launched himself at a nearby oak, scurrying up the trunk with Sasha right behind him. Once they were on a branch together, Sasha peered through the snow, trying to see how the rest of the patrol had fared.

     By the time she and Shrewtooth were safe on their branch, Harrytooth, Honeyflower, and Thymeleaf were already in trees of their own, above the snapping jaws of the dog, and Rabbitleap was halfway up the trunk of a beech. Relief flooded through her. _They're safe._ But before she had even finished the thought, Rabbitleap began to falter. His hind paws slipped out from under him as he tried to balance on a branch.

     Shrewtooth stiffened behind Sasha. “Rabbitleap's never been a good climber,” he breathed.

     Sasha watched, frozen in horror, as Rabbitleap's hind legs dangled over the open air. The dog paced under Rabbitleap's tree. He leaped again and again, snapping at the air beneath Rabbitleap. _He's going to fall,_ she realized.

     “We have to help him,” Shrewtooth growled. He glanced at her, as though just remembering she wasn't a warrior for him to command, but she simply gave a brisk nod. His gaze hardened with determination. Together, the two cats leaped to a branch in another tree closer to the dog, then to another, then another, until they were close enough.

     With twin battle yowls, Shrewtooth and Sasha leaped off their branch and towards the dog waiting below. The massive animal reared back, baying in fury as the cats swarmed across his back. Sasha hooked her claws into his pelt and hung on for dear life as the dog shook and spun around, trying to snap at her and Shrewtooth. Fear flooded her as the dog’s teeth tore at her pelt and pulled her back paws loose, but failed to get a strong enough grip to pull her off entirely. Sasha snarled furiously and readjusted her grip, hooking her back claws into the dog’s pelt again.

     “ _Ree-ee-owr!_ ” A battle cry rang out as a brown blur threw itself into the fray. With Shrewtooth and Sasha keeping the dog distracted, Rabbitleap had leaped safely down from his branch, and was now snapping and slashing at the dog’s legs with fury bright in his eyes. Harrytooth, Thymeleaf, and Honeyflower scrambled down from their own trees and raced into battle, joining Rabbitleap as they surrounded the dog on the ground.

     The dog was outnumbered and weakened by hunger, but he showed no signs of backing down. Rage only blazed brighter in his eyes as the rest of the patrol joined the battle. A high-pitched shriek of fury escaped the dog as he whirled and snapped, fighting to throw off the cats on his back, while also trying to get a grip on the cats attacking him on the ground. Harrytooth dove in to slash at the dog’s foreleg, only to shriek as the dog’s jaws snapped down on his flank. The dog snapped his head back and flung the tom away from him. Harrytooth hit the ground with a muffled thud, and didn’t stir from where he fell.

     “Harrytooth!” Rabbitleap gasped. He moved to check on the fallen warrior, but the dog blocked his way. Rabbitleap snarled his fury as he fell back into the fight beside Thymeleaf and Honeyflower. Sasha and Shrewtooth still clung to the dog’s back as they swiped at the animal from the ground. Shrewtooth was at the base of the dog’s neck, eyes dancing with fury as he buried his claws and fangs in the back of the dog’s neck, while Sasha was positioned further down its back. She had her jaws closed over the dog’s back near its shoulder. Though the dog’s thick fur made it harder to keep her grip, she forced herself to keep biting down harder and harder, even as the tasted blood on her tongue. Eventually she felt her teeth snapping down on bone.

     “ _Arooooo!_ The dog’s furious howling and baying suddenly rose in pitch into a shriek of pain. Out of the corner of her eye, Sasha spotted Thymeleaf clinging to the dog’s bloodied lip with tooth and claw. The dog thrashed around wildly, finally managing to throw Thymeleaf off, but the damage was done. A bloody tear now parted the skin of the dog’s lip.

     All of the fire seemed to die from the dog once he threw off Thymeleaf. The fury in his eyes turned quickly to fear, his shrieks and howls turning to fearful yelps. As Shrewtooth and Sasha leaped clear of the dog’s back, he whirled away and raced off into the woods back towards the border, his tail firmly between his legs.

      Silence followed after the dog’s escape. The fierce wind and thick snow had died down during the fight, and now only a gentle flurry was falling, leaving the forest quieter than it had been all day. Every cat seemed too exhausted from the battle, and too stunned at its sudden end, to do much more than lick their wounds. Sasha twisted around to look over her back, wincing as the bite marks the dog had left there twinged. None of the bites were very deep, to her relief, though they still stung fiercely as she swiped her tongue over them a few times.

     As she groomed, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Shrewtooth, who sat beside her, leaning over to lick a wounded hind leg. Fear flooded through her. Abandoning her own grooming, she looked at the tom and asked, “Are you alright?”

     “I’m fine,” he grunted. “It’s not that deep.” He paused, then lifted his head, meeting her gaze. Neither cat spoke for several moments. Sasha felt her breath catch at the mix of hope and fear and joy in Shrewtooth’s eyes. All of those emotions and more were echoed in her own heart.

     Finally, Shrewtooth murmured, “You came back.” He sounded like he almost didn’t believe it. Hope danced in his eyes as he stared at her. “What made you come back?”

      Something twisted inside of Sasha’s heart as she stared at the tom. It took her a few moments to find her voice again. “I... I was worried about how the Clan was doing with this storm,” she admitted. “I had to see for myself.”

     Warmth flooded Shrewtooth’s eyes. Before he could respond, a groan sounded nearby. They both turned to see Rabbitleap and Honeyflower helping Harrytooth to his paws. The gray tom’s gaze was glassy, and his flanks were bleeding badly. He didn’t seem to be able to stand without his Clanmates’ help.

     Honeyflower looked him over briefly before calling to her Clanmates, “It looks like he hit his head when that dog threw him. He’ll be pretty disoriented for a while.” The gentle she-cat had taken on a tone of brisk authority - Sasha was reminded of the times she’d seen her help Frecklewish. “These wounds are pretty deep. We need to get him to Frecklewish.”

     “Then let’s get going,” Rabbitleap growled. The large tom allowed Harrytooth to lean most of his weight against him as he started off towards camp. Honeyflower stayed next to Harrytooth, keeping a careful eye on the tom, while Shrewtooth and Sasha fell in beside her, Thymeleaf limping at the rear. The she-cat’s shoulder and muzzle were wounded, but there was a gleam of fierce satisfaction in her eyes even as she limped along.

     Regret clawed at Sasha’s gut as she looked at the wounded cats around her. “I should have come sooner,” she sighed. “If I’d seen the dog earlier and warned you, we wouldn’t have had to fight at all.”

     “But if you hadn’t come in the first place, we wouldn’t have stood a chance,” Shrewtooth mewed. The warmth and even love glowing in his eyes was almost too much for Sasha to bear. “That dog would’ve been on us before we even knew what was happening. We’re alive because of you.” He reached out his muzzle, touching his nose to Sasha’s ear. Her cheek fur was tickled by his relieves breath. “You have a habit of coming along just when SkyClan needs you most,” he murmured. “Thank you.”

     A rusty purr escaped Sasha, her tail curling with pleasure. Her chest filled up with warmth at the deputy’s praise. She said nothing, but as Shrewtooth pulled away and they all continued on their slow way to camp, she could feel some of the fear that had followed her for so long ebbing away.

**SCENEBREAK**

     Cats had already been settling in for the night by the time the patrol reached camp, but the shock of wounded cats and Sasha’s return had every cat awake pretty quickly. They were lucky enough to reach camp before Frecklewish left for the night. She and Honeyflower worked together to help Harrytooth into the medicine den and look after everyone else’s injuries. Billystorm refused to leave his son’s side once he learned what happened. The tom has been very depressed and lost to his grief since Sasha had known him, but a new fire seemed to spark in his eyes as he worried over his son. Luckily, Frecklewish was able to assure him after checking Harrytooth over that he would live, and that he just needed treatment and rest.

     Once the initial worry over the wounded cats died down, Sasha found herself being eagerly greeted by all of the cats she thought she’d never see again. Ebonyclaw’s kits practically swarmed her squealing in glee, Larchleaf, Crowdusk, and Peachflower greeted her with purrs and gushed that they thought they’d never see her again, even Firelily came forward and thanked her for fighting beside her brother. Every greeting filled her with a new warmth, spreading through that empty feeling in her heart and filling it up piece by piece. She still didn’t know exactly what she was doing or what would come next, but she was sure of one thing more than ever - there was a love between her and SkyClan that would never be broken, no matter what she did to try to ignore it.

     Finally, when the clamor died down, Sharpstar approached her. “I’d like to speak with you,” the tom rumbled. There was a grateful glow in his eyes, and a friendly air to the stern tom as he led her just outside of camp.

     The two cats settled by a clump of snowy ferns, letting a comfortable silence hang between them for several moments. Sharpstar stared out into the forest with a content expression for several moments before turning to look at Sasha. “I didn't think I would get the chance to apologize for the last time I saw you,” he rumbled. Sasha blinked in surprise. “It wasn't fair of me to spring my offer on you in front of the whole Clan. I didn't mean to put so much pressure on you. I'm sorry.”

     Sasha stared at the leader for a few moments, surprised into silence, before finding her voice again. “Thank you,” she mewed. “And I'm sorry for running off the way I did. You and your Clan were so kind to me, you deserved more than that, even if I wasn't staying.”

     “I think it's safe to say you've been forgiven for that,” Sharpstar mewed, his whiskers twitching. Sasha purred her agreement. Her chest filled with warmth again as she thought about the SkyClan cats she had seen again today, and how glad they'd been to see her again. Returning to the SkyClan camp had almost felt like coming home.

     Sharpstar looked out into the forest for a few moments, his expression thoughtful, before continuing. “When I first joined SkyClan, it was for all of the wrong reasons,” he began. Sasha was surprised at the change in topic, as well as the leader's admission, but she simply nodded for him to continue. “I wanted to learn the strength and fighting skills that the Clan could teach me, more than I cared about defending other cats. When I learned that Clan leaders are granted nine lives, I craved that power and invincibility. I fought hard to be considered for the leadership of the Clan for my own selfish reasons.”

     Sasha could easily picture the young Sharpstar, hardened by moons of living as a rogue, eager for the power and strength the Clan could offer him, fueled by his own ambition. It brought to mind another ambitious tabby she had once known, who had also chased power for all of the wrong reasons. “Nine lives doesn't always bring the invincibility you think it will,” she said in a dark mew, memories of Tigerstar's death being described to her flashing in her mind. Her mate had been the most powerful and cruel tom in the forest – and then one swipe of the claws had taken that all away. “And leadership brings sacrifices and heartaches of its own.”

     Surprise flickered in Sharpstar's eyes, but he nodded his agreement, rumbling, “I was too ambitious to see that in my first moons in the Clan. But the longer I lived with SkyClan, the more I came to see how much we all depended on each other, and how we grew stronger through our loyalty and compassion to one another. Leafstar was a better leader than I could have ever been if I'd been chosen then, and I learned so much from her. And now I try to lead SkyClan by what she and the rest of my Clanmates taught me. I wouldn't change anything about how it all worked out.”

     The tom rose to his paws, glancing at the loner with a softness to his gaze. “SkyClan isn't perfect,” he rumbled. “No Clan is, or any group of cats. But we have loyalty to each other, and we try to be the best that we can be. And I honestly think that you help to make us better, just as I like to think we've helped you. I believe that you would make a wonderful warrior. My offer from before still stands – but I don't want to pressure you. Only we can decide for ourselves the best way we should live.” He turned and began padding back into camp, calling over his shoulder, “I'd like for you to stay the night, if you can. I'm sure our injured Clanmates will want to thank you properly in the morning.”

     “I will,” Sasha mewed, trying to ignore the anxious fluttering in her heart from what Sharpstar had said. The leader dipped his head, then bounded back towards camp, leaving Sasha alone with her thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, there were only supposed to be ten chapters in this novella. However, as I was writing this chapter, it was ending up way, way too long, nearly 7000 words. I really didn't want to have a chapter that long, and when I figured out that there's a canon novella with eleven chapters, Leafpool's Wish, I decided to just cut this chapter in half and make the novella eleven chapters long.
> 
> So, I currently have all of chapter nine and chapter ten, which were both originally going to be part of chapter nine, written up, and I will be posting chapter ten in a few minutes, as soon as I've looked over all of it for one last edit. So you won't have to wait long for it, and I'm sorry about the confusion over chapter numbers, but you shouldn't have to wait much longer for that final chapter either, so hopefully it doesn't matter much.
> 
> Anyway, here we get to see the fight against the dog, and Sasha's return to SkyClan's camp. ^^ And we get to see a bit more of Sharpstar as a leader. I haven't been able to show him as much as I wanted in this novella, but I hope this scene gave some good insight into how he's still stern and fierce in defending his Clan, but has matured over the seasons and learned a lot of compassion from Leafstar.
> 
> I think that's all I wanted to say here. Like I said, you won't have to wait for the new chapter, so I'll see you there. ^^ Next chapter will touch on a fair bit that's already been addressed in the books, but I've tried to still tell it in an interesting way, so hopefully it's not too boring to read over that stuff again.


	11. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha has some things to think over...

Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War  
Novella 5: Sasha's Calling  
Chapter Ten

     The loner sat in the snow for a while after Sharpstar had gone. Her mind was racing with thoughts and memories, but the panic she’d felt last time she’d gotten this offer no longer accompanied them. She allowed her mind to go over her entire life, her memories of the Clans, and her feelings for SkyClan.

     She started with her early life with her house folk. In those first moons, she had been happy as a kittypet. She wouldn’t give up those memories for anything. But Ken and Jean were gone, and she had enjoyed life in the wild much too long to ever be happy as a kittypet again. That life was behind her - but so was any happiness she’d had in her life as a rogue. Her first moons on her own had been happy, but she’d been doomed to be unsatisfied in that life from the moment she set paw in ShadowClan’s camp. Whatever choices she’d made, whatever she’d denied herself through fear or through circumstance, she wasn’t made for living alone. She was a cat that longed for the companionship of others, and the friendship and loyalty they could offer each other. She wasn’t a loner anymore than she was a kittypet. But if that was the case, then what was she?

     Slowly, her mind played over her time with the Clans. Hunting in the forest with Blackfoot’s patrol. Joking and laughing with Russetfur. Fighting side by side with ShadowClan to confront ThunderClan intruders. Swimming and hanging out with Leopardstar. Overlooking her kits’ training as they grew into full RiverClan warriors. The joy of seeing them earn their full names. And finally, oddly, her mind jumped back to a particular moment, when she and her kits had tried to take shelter at the barn, to the farm queen panting and trembling in front of her after she beat her in battle. Sasha had been shaking with righteous anger, standing between the miserable she-cats and the kits she would die to protect, and the queen had said something. _“You're... you’re one of those stupid warriors, aren’t you?”_

     She remembered her response to that miserable she-cat - and suddenly, everything felt clear.

     “Sasha?” The loner turned to see Shrewtooth approaching from the camp, coming to stand before her. A thick clump of cobwebs had been wrapped around his wounded leg, some sort of herb poultice being kept in place by the webs. Concern glowed in the tom’s eyes. “You’ve been out here for a while,” he mewed. “Did Sharpstar say something to you?”

     The loner purred. Though there was still a flutter of fear in her chest, the sight of the tom brought a sense of joy and comfort that only hardened her resolve. “Nothing bad, I promise,” she assured him. “Just something I needed to hear.” Shrewtooth looked confused, but there was a glow of relief in his eyes. Sasha stood. “Come on,” she mewed, suddenly feeling much lighter than she had in seasons. “It’s a beautiful night. I feel like going stargazing - care to join me?”

     Warmth lit up in a Shrewtooth’s eyes. “I know the perfect place,” he told her.

     The deputy led Sasha to the top of the gorge, guiding her up a series of ledges and across a large crevice, until they were at the top of a large rock. Sasha padded curiously up to the edge of the rock, surprised to see that it jutted out over SkyClan’s camp. She could see the dark water of the river churning past below, and a few distant specks as cats paced in front of the medicine den, but other than that all was still below.

     “This is the Skyrock,” Shrewtooth informer the loner. “The Clan holds the Gathering here every full moon, and leaders gain their nine lives here. It’s the closest in SkyClan territory that you can get to StarClan.” There was a peaceful gleam of contentment in Shrewtooth’s eyes as he settled down onto the snow. Sasha laid down beside him. “We can see our ancestors more clearly here than anywhere else.”

     Sasha glanced curiously at Shrewtooth. “How do you have Gatherings without the other Clans?” she asked.

     “We may not have neighbors to share our news with, but the full-moon truce is still important to SkyClan,” the deputy explained. “We hold Gatherings every full moon to honor that, and our traditions, and to tell each other stories of the past moon and celebrate our accomplishments.”

     Sasha allowed that to sink in as she and Shrewtooth settled side-by-side onto their backs to stare up at the stars. The earlier flurrying had stopped, and the clouds had pulled away, leaving a perfectly clear night sky above them. Hundreds of thousands of stars gleamed in the dark sky and lit up the night. Sasha could understand perfectly why Shrewtooth called it the closest one could get to StarClan - she almost felt like she could reach out with her paw and scoop up the stars in her claws and take them for her own.

     There was something comforting about the closeness of the stars, and the closeness of Shrewtooth’s pelt against her own. She was feeling braver than she had in seasons. If this was a place for sharing stories of the past and reaffirming bonds between cat and cat, then maybe it was finally time to face her own past by sharing it with another.

     “I wasn’t born a loner, you know.” Shrewtooth turned a little to face her, his yellow-green gaze fixed curiously on her, but he said nothing, allowing her to continue. “My mother was a she-cat named Sapphire. She was a purebred Siamese cat.”

     “Purebred,” Shrewtooth repeated, eyes glowing with surprise. “You mean, a kittypet?

     Sasha nodded. “Her house folk wanted her to have purebred kits of her own, but my mother was stubborn,” she told them. Memories of the beautiful she-cat swam in her mind, making her pause. She hadn’t thought of her mother or father in seasons. The happy, secure first moons of her life felt like part of someone else’s story, or like they were from another lifetime. “Instead she had kits with a local kittypet, a tom named Blackjack, with no Siamese blood,” she continued. “My littermates and I were their kits. We were raised with house folk all around us, and eventually we were each sent off to live with our own house folk.”

     “I missed my family, but my house folk, Ken and Jean, welcomed me into their home. They loved me like a kit of their own.” Grief clawed at Sasha’s heart. “But then Jean got sick. My house folk were already old when I moved in as a kitten, and Jean died when I was still young. Then Ken was taken away by some younger house folk, and I was left alone.”

     Sasha paused, taking a moment to collect herself. Shrewtooth reached out a paw and laid it comfortingly over her own. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I was never that close to any of my twolegs, but I’ve seen how much my daylight Clanmates love their house folk. I’m sorry you lost them.”

     “Your twolegs?” Sasha repeated, surprised out of her grief. “You were a kittypet too?” She had hidden her own kittypet roots for so long out of fear of being looked down on that sometimes she forgot that she wasn’t the only kittypet-born wild cat. Even in the accepting SkyClan, with their daylight warriors and kittypet visitors, she somehow hadn’t stopped to think more than the daylight cats had kittypet roots.

     Something dark flashed in Shrewtooth’s eyes. “For a time, yes,” he said carefully. “My mother wasn’t a kittypet, but she did live with twolegs as a farm cat, hunting mice that lived in the barn, and the twolegs looked after her and gave her a place to live.” For a moment, a wistful gleam came into Shrewtooth’s eyes, replacing the earlier fear. “Her name was Tess,” he murmured. “My father left before I was born, and my littermates were stillborn, so it was just me and my mother. She called me her little Shrew, and she looked after me - but she died when I was still kit.”

     Sympathy pricked at Sasha’s heart. “I’m sorry,” she murmured.

     Shrewtooth just gave a sad twitch of his tail, then continued, “I learned to hunt and live on my own in the woods. But when I was still a young cat, an old twoleg captured me and made me his kittypet.” The fear returned to Shrewtooth’s eyes, and he seemed to draw in on himself, becoming smaller, more vulnerable. “My time as a kittypet wasn’t... pleasant. I don't talk about it much.” He glanced at her after a moment, his expression suddenly apologetic. “I'm sorry, I know you've been telling me about your own past...”

     It was hard to see the kind, thoughtful tom retreating into his fear and hurt the way that he was - but Sasha could see her own pain and fear reflected in the tom, and she understood it. “Don't worry about it,” she assured him in a gentle mew. “I waited until I was ready to tell you. I'm not going to push you for anything if you're not ready.” Fear flickered in Shrewtooth's eyes again, but after a moment, there was gratitude there instead. Sasha allowed her tail-tip to brush comfortingly across his flank, then she changed the subject so Shrewtooth didn’t have to dwell on his fearful memories. “I did sort of the same thing you did,” she mewed. Shrewtooth's gaze grew calmer as he listened. “I decided that if I couldn’t have my house folk, I didn’t want any, and so I left to live on my own in the woods.” Her breath caught for a moment. “And that's where I met him.”

     “Him?” Shrewtooth repeated gently. He seemed to sense the shift in Sasha's mood; his paw reached out to brush against hers again. There was sadness in his eyes, as if he at least partly guessed where this was going, but he said nothing further on it.

     “Tigerstar,” Sasha breathed. Memories of the dark tabby flooded her mind; his dark fur, the hard muscle under a rippling pelt, the scars from a lifetime of battle, his intense amber gaze that sent her heart racing. The dark heart that had taken everything she loved away from her. “He was ShadowClan's leader when I came to the forest. He was strong and handsome and brave, and he helped teach me how to hunt and fight like a Clan cat.” She closed her eyes. “I fell in love.”

     Shrewtooth waited patiently as Sasha paused to pull herself together. “Tigerstar gave me the chance to join ShadowClan to be his mate. And I almost accepted. I loved him more deeply than I'd ever loved before, even though he thought that kittypets were worthless, even though he made me swear not to tell any cat that I'd been a kittypet, because he saw it as shameful.” Sympathy glowed in Shrewtooth's eyes. “And part of me still loves him, even after everything. But I learned the truth about him before I had the chance to join his Clan.”

     “What truth?” Shrewtooth asked gently.

     “Tigerstar was born in ThunderClan, and had been their deputy for a time, before becoming ShadowClan's leader,” she explained. “He told me that his leader had exiled him because she envied his strength – but the truth was that he had murdered the old deputy in secret so he would be chosen in his place.” Shrewtooth stiffened, surprise and horror flashing in his eyes. “After the truth was discovered, Tigerstar was exiled, then he became ShadowClan's leader after their old one died.”

     A bitter edge came to her mew as she added, “But that wasn't enough for him. I overheard him and his warriors planning to take over the other Clans by force, and killing any cat who stood in their way, or who had divided loyalties by being halfClan. I later learned that he took all halfClan cats in RiverClan prisoner and forced them to fight to the death. I left him and the forest as soon as I found out the truth, and while I was gone, Tigerstar was killed by a rogue he tried to ally with to take over the forest.”

     “That's horrible,” Shrewtooth breathed. Sasha expected judgment, but there was only gentle sympathy in his eyes. “I'm so sorry, Sasha.”

     Sasha sighed. “That's not everything,” she murmured. “After I left the forest, I discovered I was expecting Tigerstar's kits.” Surprise flashed in Shrewtooth's eyes, but he stayed silent, allowing her to continue. “I came back to the forest to give birth to them, though I stayed well out of ShadowClan's way. There were three of them. Hawk, Moth, and Tadpole.” The name of her firstborn brought a fierce wave of grief crashing over the she-cat, but she forced herself to press on. “I struggled to look after them on my own. I had to leave them alone when they went hunting, and as they got older, they got more adventurous. One day, they snuck away to twolegplace while I was out hunting, to see if they could find Ken if he was still alive. They got trapped in a den that flooded... Hawk and Moth made it out, but Tadpole drowned.”

     This time, Sasha allowed herself to feel her grief, closing her eyes and feeling her pelt tremble all over with the force of it. Shrewtooth brushed his tail against her, and Sasha leaned into his embrace, burying her muzzle against his neck and allowing the tom to steady her trembling. “I'm so sorry,” Shrewtooth repeated, his mew trembling a little. Horror was glowing in his eyes. “I can't even imagine.”

     Sasha just nodded. She gave herself some time to stop her trembling and reign her grief back in before continuing. “I realized after Tadpole died that I wasn't up to caring for Moth and Hawk by myself.” Her mew was rough with emotion, but she managed to keep herself from slipping back into that horrible haze of grief again. “Another rogue had told me that RiverClan was less aggressive and hostile than the other Clans, so I decided that the only thing I could do to provide for my kits was to have us all join RiverClan. Their leader, Leopardstar, was kind, and she started my kits on their warrior training not long after we joined the Clan. My kits were happier than they'd ever been.”

     “I was determined to make sure no one ever knew who Mothpaw and Hawkpaw's father was,” Sasha continued. “Tigerstar's life of murder and treachery was revealed to the Clans before he died, so he was hated by all of the Clans now, and I didn't want my kits to be judged for their father's deeds. But I quickly realized that there was no way that it would remain secret if I stayed with the Clan. I would have to attend Gatherings eventually, and the ShadowClan cats I knew when I was with Tigerstar would recognize me, and they would realize just who had fathered my kits. So I made the hardest decision I ever had to. I left my kits to be raised by RiverClan, and returned to my life as a rogue, alone.”

     Sasha nearly broke down again, but Shrewtooth touched his nose to her cheek, murmuring, “I can't imagine how hard that choice must have been. But you were trying to do what was best for your kits. No cat could blame you for that.”

     The loner stared at Shrewtooth for a few moments. He was so gentle, so understanding, because he had felt fear and loss too. In that moment, Sasha was struck by just how different he was from Tigerstar – and how much she loved him for it. A small purr escaped her before she continued. “Hawkfrost and Mothwing grew up to become RiverClan warriors, though Mothwing later decided to train as a medicine cat. I visited them as often as I could. Eventually, the twolegs began destroying the forest, and the Clans decided to leave entirely.” Shame flooded her as memories of that day played in her mind. “I... I was scared. I knew the forest wasn't safe for my kits anymore, and I was scared the the Clan could no longer protect them as I'd hoped. I didn't want to lose them. I confronted them in front of the Clans and asked them to leave their Clan to live with me again. And... I revealed who their father was, in front of everyone, to try and push them into leaving.”

     She sighed. “But I failed. Mothwing was the Clan's full medicine cat by that point, they needed her, and Hawkfrost... well, he was always polite, but I could sense him growing more distant to me over the moons. I think he wanted to be seen as totally loyal by his Clanmates, and having a rogue mother soiled that, so he tried to push me away. There was no way he would ever leave his Clan for me.” She closed her eyes, fighting back a wave of pain. “That was the last time I ever saw either of them. The Clans left the forest, and I wandered alone, too scared to care about anyone again – until I met you and SkyClan.”

     Surprise flashed in Shrewtooth's eyes. After a moment, though, the look there softened into warmth. “I can't imagine how hard all of that must have been,” he murmured. He pressed against Sasha's side, laying his chin over her head, while she curled up against him. “I see now why you were so reluctant to stay with our Clan. I'm sorry.” He pulled back, gazing at her with a somber expression. “But I hope... from everything you told me, you were always trying to do what was best for your kits. Even if you made mistakes, you were always trying to protect them. They were lucky to have a mother like you. What you went through was terrible, but you're a good cat, Sasha. I've always known that.”

     Emotion surged in Sasha's chest at his words. She twined her tail with his, trying to steady its trembling. Shrewtooth watched her with a gentle gaze as he continued, “And I hope you can believe that SkyClan cares about you. We're not like Tigerstar or his Clan. I know my Clanmates, and these cats, they really care about you – and, well, I care about you too. A lot.” There was a shyness to the tom's expression as he admitted that, but his mew didn't waver.

     Sasha pressed her muzzle against his neck, purring deeply. Recounting her past had been difficult, but somehow, now that it was all out in the open, she felt freer than she had in seasons. “I believe it,” she murmured. “It took me a while, but I truly believe it – and I care about you too, Shrewtooth.” Joy flashed in Shrewtooth's eyes, and she could feel a deep purr rumbling within his chest as she pressed against him.

     “And I think I finally know what to do about it.”

**SCENEBREAK**

     “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Rockpile for a Clan meeting!”

     Sharpstar's call drew the attention of every cat in the clearing. The cats of SkyClan abandoned their evening meals and made their way to the Rockpile, gathering in a crowd in front of it. Sasha joined them. She came to stand beside Shrewtooth and Frecklewish. The tabby leader stood atop of the rocks, his head lifted proudly.

     “Yesterday, our warriors fought bravely to drive a dog from our territory,” he called out for every cat to hear. “Our patrols have confirmed that the dog has left our borders. From the beating it got yesterday, I doubt it will be in any hurry to return.” Triumphant yowls rose from the crowd, warrior and loner visitors alike cheering for the Clan's victory. The cats from the patrol were all in the crowd, even Harrytooth, who had recovered from his blow to the head. Billystorm stood proudly beside his son, joining the crowd's cheers.

     Sharpstar allowed them to cheer for a short time before waving his tail for silence. “But our victory was only possible because of one cat, who warned our patrol in time to save them,” he continued. “A cat who has been a friend and ally to our Clan time and time again, and has proven to have the loyalty, compassion, and courage that any warrior would be proud of. And today, she finally takes her place among us.” The tom lifted his chin. “Step forward, Sasha!”

     Shocked mews rose from the crowd. The she-cat had discussed her decision with no one other than Shrewtooth and Sharpstar before the Clan meeting. As the surprise wore off, however, she could see joy and acceptance shining in the eyes of the cats all around her. The kits, the warriors, the elders... even Tetra and her kits, who had only known Sasha for a short term, were purring their approval. Shrewtooth nudged her shoulder, murmuring, “Go on.” She glanced back at him with a small purr, then rose to her paws, approaching the Rockpile. As she padded up to the SkyClan leader, her mind once again played over her victory over the farm queen, and the queen's question. _“You're... you're one of those stupid warriors, aren't you?”_

     And with a proud heart, she remembered her response. _“That's right. I am a warrior.”_

     Sharpstar leaped down from the Rockpile, standing before the loner. “Sasha, is it your wish to become a warrior of SkyClan, and to serve beside us for the rest of your life?” he asked, calling out so that every cat could hear.

     Sasha met the leader's gaze calmly. “It is,” she answered in a clear mew. All of the fear and hurt that had plagued her for so long was muted now, leaving her strong and confident as she stood before her new leader. She knew that wasn't the end of it. Hurt like hers was not banished so easily, and she knew there would be hard days still ahead. But with the love and support of her new Clan, she could get through it, and she knew now more clearly than ever that this was where she belonged. She was no loner – she had always been, deep in her heart, a _warrior_.

     “On one condition,” she continued. “I would like to keep my name. My house folk gave it to me, and I am proud to carry it still, and to remember the love they had for me.” Even more surprised cries rang out from the crowd, from the cats who hadn't known of her kittypet past. Sasha no longer felt fear of being shamed for it. Not from this Clan. The fear that Tigerstar had taught her would no longer rule her. She was finally ready to leave Tigerstar, and everything he had meant to her, behind her.

     Sharpstar dipped his head. “Very well,” he rumbled. When he lifted his head once more, he began with the words that Sasha thought she would never get to hear. “I, Sharpstar, leader of SkyClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this cat. She has fought hard to defend the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn.”

     Her breath caught as he continued, “Sasha, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?”

     Sasha's mind flashed to the memories of her time with the Clans. Of the strength and courage she'd felt when fighting beside Tigerstar. Of the joy of seeing her own kits become warriors. Of the love and loyalty she shared with the SkyClan cats. And she knew her answer.

     “I do.” Her words rang out clear for every cat to hear.

     “Then by the powers of StarClan, I confirm your warrior name,” Sharpstar announced. “From this moment on, you will continue to be known as Sasha. StarClan honors your strength and your compassion, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SkyClan.”

     Joy, fiercer than Sasha had ever known, flooded through the new warrior as the ceremony was completed. She dipped her head to her leader, allowing Sharpstar to rest his chin atop her head. As he pulled back and she lifted her head, she could hear her new Clanmates calling out her name with joy and love in their voices. “Sasha! Sasha! Sasha!”

     Her path had been a hard one. She had known loss and suffering and betrayal, and the ones she had loved most dearly had been lost to her. But she had survived. She had broken past the loss of her past by allowing herself to find love and happiness again. Two of her kits were still alive, and happy with their lives somewhere, and now it was time for her to be happy too. She had finally fulfilled the calling that had been waiting for her all of her life. She was a warrior at last. And now, with her new Clan all around her, and with the support of her fellow warriors, she knew that she was exactly where she belonged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised I'd have the next chapter up soon. ^^ Like I said, this was supposed to be part of chapter nine, but it got too long, so I chopped it into two chapters. That means there's still one more chapter for this novella, chapter eleven, and I'm gonna try to get that done and posted really soon. I know this chapter seemed rather final, but trust me, there's a bit more to wrap up - all I'll say is, expect a jump forward in time. ;)
> 
> So here we get to see Sasha opening up to Shrewtooth about her past, and we get to learn a little more about his, namely his mother's name. I'm gonna give the descriptions and names for all of Sasha's parents and littermates, and for Shrewtooth's mother, because I feel like it. :P
> 
> Sasha's Parents:
> 
> Sapphire - lithe, tall oriental cream she-cat with dark brown points and blue eyes, purebred Siamese  
> Blackjack - small black tom with a white muzzle, chest, and paws, and pale yellow eyes
> 
> Sasha's Littermates:
> 
> Pearl - white she-cat with blue eyes  
> Sassy - light creamy-brown she-cat with a white chest, muzzle, and paws and ice-blue eyes  
> Layla - dark brown she-cat with yellow eyes  
> Poe - small, skinny black tom with a white chin, chest, and paws and yellow eyes  
> Tao - cream tom with brown points and blue eyes
> 
> Shrewtooth's Parents:
> 
> Tess - scruffy dark gray-and-white she-cat with yellow-green eyes  
> Juniper - sleek black tom with golden eyes, loner
> 
> Juniper and Tess had a brief relationship, but Juniper wasn't up for something more committed, so he left before Tess discovered she was pregnant. The rest of her kits were stillborn. I based Sasha's littermates off of the page in Into the Woods that shows her and her littermates in their nest together, though I expanded on their designs a bit. They all went on to be happy kittypets, I think, I didn't really want to go too much into their stories, just their descriptions. I liked the idea of Sasha being half-Siamese, sort of making her a bit of a halfbreed with rebels in her family from the start, to make her even more of a stark contrast from the pureblood-obsessed Tigerstar. Plus, I liked the idea of her build being sort of half Siamese, lithe and with a longer muzzle and narrow face, but not nearly as much as a full-blooded Siamese.
> 
> And we also finally see Sasha become a warrior, in the finale that probably everyone saw coming, but oh well. :P Really, the main reason for me writing this novella boils down to that one line from Return to the Clans. "That's right, I am a warrior." That was when I became convinced that Sasha wasn't just a loner who had some unfortunate run-ins with the Clan but never belonged with them. She was a warrior at heart, just as much as any Clanborn cat, but the situations she was in kept her from becoming a warrior. That's how I wanted to end her story, by letting her finally become a warrior, in a Clan more suited to her accepting mindset.
> 
> It was really cool getting to finally write a warrior name ceremony for Sasha. A very satisfying moment. :D Anyway, I think that's everything I wanted to say. Next chapter should be interesting. ^^


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Many seasons later...

Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War  
Novella 5: Sasha's Calling  
Chapter Eleven

     “Sasha? Are you up yet?”

     The senior warrior shifted in her nest, reluctantly cracking open one eye. “Keep your fur on,” she grumbled. Her jaws split in a massive yawn. “I'm coming.”

     Crowdusk's whiskers twitched as Sasha pushed herself onto her paws. “Don't blame me, you're the one that didn't want to sleep in today,” she pointed out. She waited while the she-cat stretched out her limbs, giving one last yawn before she stepped away from her nest. “Flutterpaw's waiting for you by the fresh-kill pile, and Kayleewing and Bouncefire offered to let you join their patrol.”

     The news was enough to banish Sasha's grogginess. She curled her tail, giving a rusty purr. “I'd better not keep them waiting, then,” she mewed. Crowdusk stepped out of the way so Sasha could approach the den's entrance. The younger cat followed Sasha out of the den into camp.

     Sasha descended down gorge wall below the warrior's den with practiced ease, no longer having to struggle to make the climb. Even as she grew slower and stiffer with age, moons of living in SkyClan had allowed her to learn the best ways to climb and jump, and now it was second nature to her. Once she reached the floor of the gorge, she paused for a moment, allowing herself to take in the scene around her.

     The gorge itself had not changed much in the two leaf-falls that Sasha had lived with SkyClan. Sleek cliffs still loomed over her head, the river still murmured past on the gorge floor, the caves that served as dens were still carved into the rock the same way they had been when she’d came. But the sight meant more to her now, after so many seasons of living here. The unchanging rock walls and river were comforting sights and sounds. To her, they meant _home_.

     Her attention was drawn by the sounds of the cats around her. Warriors and apprentices were milling around camp, readying themselves for patrols, or sharing morning meals. One apprentice in particular caught her gaze. She padded up to the fluffy she-cat, purring, “Ready for some hunting, Flutterpaw?”

     The apprentice looked up from her meal, her eyes bright. “Of course!” she purred. The she-cat lacked her mother’s partially-hairless pelt, unlike her littermates, and she seemed to lean more towards her father in looks. The gray shade of her fur, as well as her bright personality, reminded Sasha very much of her father Luckyleaf.

     “Then finish eating and meet me by the camp entrance when you’re done,” Sasha purred. She left the apprentice to her meal, then turned and padded away towards a group of warriors, grabbing a starling off the fresh-kill pile as she passed it.

     Though it was early, the daylight warriors were already in camp, and sharing meals with their Clanmates. The elders were out sunning on the rocks, their eyes half-closed as they took in the leaf-fall sun. Sasha felt a pang of grief as she looked at them. Petalnose and Billystorm had both died some seasons ago, departing to join their beloved mates in StarClan. Patchfoot and Clovertail were getting stiffer and grayer with every day, but they still hung on season after season, passing on stories to the young cats and enjoying their days with each other. A third cat sat beside them on the sunny rocks. Waspwhisker had joined their ranks some moons ago, and now spent his days sunning himself and sharing prey and stories with his Clanmates. Sasha knew that she didn't have many seasons left herself until it was time to join them, but she held off on retiring for now. She hadn't gotten to be a warrior for much of her life – she wanted to enjoy it a while longer before moving in with the elders. There was still more that she could do as a warrior.

     Several warriors looked up as Sasha approached their group. “Hey Sasha,” Kayleewing purred. She and Blizzardfang made room for Sasha as she joined them with her own meal. “Big day today, huh?”

     “How are they handling the wait?” Leafbreeze asked with a purr. After Shelia’s exile from SkyClan territory, the treacherous queen and her kits Storm and Patch hadn’t been seen again. But to many cats’ surprise, Coal and his daughter Leaf had returned some moons later. Coal explained that Shelia had died in a fight with other rogues, and that Storm and Patch had turned their backs on him the moment their mother was dead, declaring him to be weak and useless before setting off on their own.

     Leaf, however, had always had a good heart, and had been enthralled with Clan life no matter how her mother scorned them. The Clan had welcomed the pair back once their friendly intentions were clear. Though Coal chose to remain a loner, Leaf had joined SkyClan as an apprentice, then as a full warrior, Leafbreeze. There had been some suspicion when she’d first joined, but the friendly young she-cat had quickly proved that she was nothing like her mother. She was now a valued and loved warrior of SkyClan.

     “They kept me up half the night with their whispering,” Dapplepaw complained. The bald-patched she-cat gave an irritated snort. “Even when they were asleep, they kept twitching and kicking.”

     Dapplepaw’s mentor, Rufustail, purred his amusement. “Don’t be too cross with your denmates,” he chided the young she-cat. “It’s not every day a cat gets to become a warrior. They’re bound to be excited.”

     “It’s no fair,” Dapplepaw’s brother, Brightpaw, grumbled. “We’re not that much younger than them. We should be warriors too!”

     “It won’t be that much longer,” Larchleaf assured him. “And besides, Cosettecloud and Frecklewish’s kits will be old enough to be apprenticed soon, and then at least you'll be the oldest apprentices in the den.” Brightpaw snorted, but he did look a little mollified at the thought.

     Kayleewing's whiskers twitched for a moment, then she turned to Sasha. “I haven't seen them this morning,” she mewed. “I think they're still asleep. Feel like pulling those lazy mousebrains out of their nests?”

     Sasha swallowed the last bites of her starling before purring, “Leave it to me.” She left the warriors behind and started towards the apprentice's den. Before she could reach it, however, a nearby mew distracted her. She turned to see a familiar black tom padding towards her.

     “On your way to see someone?” he asked in an amused purr.

     Sasha purred as she brushed muzzles with the tom. “Just a few mouse-brained apprentices who decided to sleep in,” she joked. “Care to join me?”

     “You bet,” the tom purred, whiskers twitching. The two cats headed together, pelt beside pelt, for the apprentice's den.

     Early morning sunlight was trickling into the apprentice's cave when Sasha and the black tom arrived. Most of the nests were empty – all of Crowdusk and Luckyleaf's kits were already awake, and the only other apprentice, Oreopaw, was a daylight cat who didn't have a nest in the apprentice's den. Only two furry lumps were still curled up in their mossy nests.

     Sasha and the black tom swapped a quick look, a silent message passing between them. Then they lowered into identical crouches. They crept closer and closer to the sleeping cats until, after a brief pause, they pounced at the same time. Yowls of shock rang out from the apprentices as Sasha and the tom bowled them over. The black she-cat under Sasha's paws hissed her surprise, twisting on her back to claw at her attacker – only to relax as she recognized her. The aggression in her ice-blue eyes softened into affection. “Great StarClan, you scared the fur off of me,” she mewed.

     “You're supposed to be warriors, not kits,” the other apprentice grumbled. The scruffy brown tabby glared at the black tom, groggy annoyance flashing in her yellow-green eyes, a lighter shade of the tom's eyes. “And you, you’re supposed to be an example to your Clan,” she chided him.

     The tawny warrior purred her amusement. She stepped back to let the apprentice rise to her paws, the tom doing the same behind her. “Just because we're getting a little gray around the muzzle doesn't mean we can't have fun every once in a while,” Sasha joked. She reached out her muzzle, licking smooth a tuft of fur sticking up on the black cat's head. “Especially when it comes to waking up our lazy kits.”

     Sasha's daughter blinked at her with ice-blue eyes that were identical to her own. The white that marked her paws, chest, chin, and forehead were similar to Sasha's pelt as well, as was her sleek fur and smaller size. “We couldn't sleep very well last night,” she revealed, waving a white-tipped tail behind her. “We kept thinking about the ceremony and just couldn't seem to settle down.”

     “And of course Nightpaw fell asleep first, and her snoring kept me up even longer,” the tabby joked. Her taller size and scruffy pelt were more reminiscent of her father, but the light brown hue of her pelt, as well as the darker coloring on her face, paws, and tail, were definitely from her mother, as well as the lighter shade of her eyes. A small flash of her mother’s white underbelly fur marked her chest. “And Brightpaw always kicks and twitches in his sleep like he's chasing prey – whatever he says otherwise. It's all any cat can do to get some sleep in this den.”

     The black tom purred his amusement. “Well you won't have to worry about that for much longer, Morningpaw,” he pointed out. “Now come on. You two are going to be late for your last patrol as apprentices.”

     Joy lit up in Morningpaw and Nightpaw's eyes. “Great StarClan, we forgot!” Morningpaw cried. Without another word, the she-cats scrambled past their parents and out of the den, leaving the older cats to follow more slowly behind them.

     Morningpaw and Nightpaw were already halfway across camp and beside their mentors by the time Sasha and the tom left the den behind. Their kits were practically bouncing with excitement as they joined with their patrol, their eyes shining and their tails curled with joy. The sight filled Sasha with a warm rush of love. It had been a hard path to find someone she wanted to raise kits with, and to bring herself to have another litter after what happened to her first, but she didn't regret a moment of any of it now. Her daughters were happy and safe in SkyClan, and now, they would finally be full warriors.

     The tawny she-cat glanced at her mate. “You could come with us, if you like,” she offered.

     He shook his head. “I promised Rabbitleap I would lead a patrol to do a sweep of the border,” he mewed. “There's been some rogue scents in the area. But once that's done, I'd love to go for a walk with our kits, if there's time before the ceremony.”

     “That sounds perfect,” Sasha purred. She reached out and brushed her muzzle against the tom's cheek, purring deeply. She had been so afraid for so long of what it would mean to let herself love again. But once she had let go of that fear, she had come to love the tom in front of her with a deep, fierce passion that brought her more peace and happiness than she had known for a very long time. She had never forgotten Tigerstar – she didn't know if she ever could forget him – but her new mate was a better tom than he had ever been, and she loved him with all of her heart. Piece by piece, she had been able to leave Tigerstar in the past, and build a new life with the cats that she loved in the here and now.

     The tom touched his nose to Sasha's cheek, his warm breath stirring the tips of her fur. “Have fun on your patrol, love,” he murmured.

     She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. “You too, Shrewstar,” she murmured.

     Shrewstar pulled back, blinking warmly at his mate, before turning and padding away. Sasha watched him go for a few moments, then padded away to join her own patrol. Kayleewing and Bouncefire were standing by the camp's entrance with their apprentices beside them. Softpetal, Embershade, and Lunacloud, the newest daylight warrior, were waiting with them, as well as an excited Flutterpaw. “Good, we're all here,” Bouncefire mewed. “Then let's get going.”

     The ginger tom led his patrol over the rocks and out into the forest. Hues of red and amber painted the treetops and the leaf-ridden forest floor, and golden light poured through the breaks between tree branches. The days were getting colder - leafbare would be there soon. But SkyClan had made it through leafbare before, and Sasha knew they would do it again, as long as they had each other.

     As the patrol walked along, Flutterpaw kept her ears pricked and swiveling at every sound. Her eyes were bright as she stared out into the undergrowth. “I heard some robins singing earlier,” she commented. “Should we try to track them down?”

     “Don’t be mouse-brained,” Lunacloud snorted. “Those birds could be half a forest away by now.”

     Sasha narrowed her eyes at the she-cat. Lunacloud was a fine hunter and loyal warrior, but she could be pretty blunt and snobbish at times. She lashed her tail once, then turned to Flutterpaw. “She’s right that the birds could have flown away by now,” she explained, though in a gentler tone than Lunacloud had taken. “And when birds sing like that, it usually means they’re somewhere that they think a predator can’t reach them, like high up in a tree, where even we can’t easily climb.” Flutterpaw was starting to look embarrassed, so Sasha added, “It’s always good to be aware of your surroundings and any signs of prey. Part of being a warrior is just learning when to listen to which signs, and how to use all of them to your best advantage.”

     Flutterpaw ducked her head. “I’ll remember that next time,” she vowed.

     “Don’t worry, Flutterpaw,” Embershade mewed. The tortoiseshell cast a friendly gaze towards Sasha, saying, “You’ve got a good mentor, and you’re a smart cat. You’ll be a warrior in no time.”

     Sasha blinked gratefully at her former apprentice. Ebonyclaw’s kits had become apprentices a few moons after Sasha joined the Clan, and Sharpstar had chosen Sasha to mentor Emberpaw. Sparkpaw, later Sparkbreeze, had been assigned to Crowdusk, but Smokepaw chose a different path than his littermates. All three cats seemed happy with the paths that they had chosen. Sparkbreeze and Embershade had grown into fine warriors, just like their parents, and Sasha was fiercely proud of the warrior Embershade had become. Smokepaw had come just as far as his sisters. Though technically still an apprentice, Smokesong was now a fully-trained medicine cat, which had finally allowed his mentor Frecklewish to have kits with her mate, Rabbitleap. Smokesong was fulfilling most of Frecklewish’s duties while she looked after her kits.

     Thoughts of her first apprentice led Sasha to sadder thoughts of the cat who had chosen her as a mentor. Sharpstar had ruled SkyClan for another leafbare and a half after Sasha joined SkyClan. Last newleaf, however, he had finally lost his last life in a battle against a fox, in which Sageleaf also perished. Then-apprentices Creampaw and Barkpaw survived because of his sacrifice. Shrewtooth received his nine lives after that and became SkyClan’s new leader, with Rabbitleap as his deputy. Grief for Sharpstar still hung over the Clan like a dark cloud, but it had slipped away more and more as each moon passed, giving way to hope for the future. Sasha would always be grateful to the tom who invited her to join SkyClan in the first place, and she grieved for Sharpstar as much as the rest of the Clan, but she knew that SkyClan was in safe paws under Shrewstar’s leadership.

     Sasha was drawn out of her thoughts of the past by two bright voices. Nightpaw and Morningpaw were chatting with their mentors, their eyes shining as they took in what they were being told. Sasha’s heart surged with love at the sight of them. It had taken her a long time to be ready to have a second litter, but she couldn’t be more happy now that she had them. Shrewstar had agreed to let her name their daughters, with some suggestions from him - Nightpaw for ShadowClan, and the darkness her life had started with, and Morningpaw for how her life had changed for the better and become brighter. And both names were for SkyClan, the morning and night sky, after the place where she had made her fresh start and where she and her family belonged.

     Shrewstar had worried about Nightpaw’s name at first, but he’d understood when she’d explained why she’d chosen it. While she didn’t forgive what had happened in her past, it had still ultimately led her to discover SkyClan, and her experiences with ShadowClan were what had made her realize she was a warrior at heart. Both morning and night had shaped her into who she was. Whatever their names, Sasha and Shrewstar loved their daughters dearly, and had done their best to raise them well. And now they would finally become warriors.

     “You’ll stay for the ceremony, won’t you?” Morningpaw was asking Kayleewing. “I know you have to get back to your twolegs, but-”

     “Of course I’ll stay!” Kayleewing interrupted her apprentice with a purr. “I wouldn’t miss it for all of StarClan! In fact, I’m going to stay in camp tonight so I can be the first to greet you in the morning after your vigil.”

     Joy lit up in Morningpaw’s eyes. “Really?” she gasped. “Your twolegs won’t mind?”

     “They can stand to live without me for one night,” Kayleewing mewed brightly. “This is your big day, Morningpaw. I want to be there for it.”

     From the front of the group, Bouncefire added to Nightpaw, “And you know I’ll be there. That goes for after the ceremony too. Even though I won’t be your mentor anymore, I’ll always be here if you need my help. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for anything.” The tom’s tone was unusually sincere. Even after this many seasons of having a happy family, Bouncefire was gruff more often than not, though not in an unkind way. But there was pride in his eyes as he gazed at Nightpaw now.

     Nightpaw nudged Bouncefire’s shoulder with her own, purring her amusement. “I’m sure I’ll be too embarrassed to ever ask anything again once my name changes,” she joked in a wry tone. Bouncefire gave a dry purr of laughter in response.

     Seeing her daughters joking and laughing with their mentors, their last time doing so as apprentices, filled Sasha with a sort of bittersweet joy. She suddenly felt the need to say something before they became warriors. “Bouncefire, would you mind if I borrow these two for a moment?” she called out to the patrol leader. Morningpaw and Nightpaw looked back at her in surprise. “I won’t keep them too long.”

     Bouncefire nodded easily. “Take all the time you need.” With a flick of his tail, he led the rest of the patrol away, leaving Sasha alone with her daughters.

     “What’s going on?” Nightpaw asked, concern glowing in her eyes. “Is something wrong?”

     Sasha paused a moment, taking in the sight of her two daughters, grown cats now, no longer tiny kittens that needed her protection. Her chest swelled with pride and sadness alike. “Nothing's wrong,” she assured them. “I just wanted to talk to you before we head back to camp.”

     She curled her tail, unable to hold back a purr. “I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you, both of you,” she mewed. “You've both worked so hard to get to this point. I know you're going to make fine warriors. I want you to know that I'll always be here if you need me – but I also know that you're grown cats now, and that you can look after yourselves.” Unease pricked at Sasha's pelt. She had been so afraid of losing her daughters the same way that she'd lost her first litter, she'd sometimes been too over-protective when the kits were young. She'd worked hard with Shrewstar to overcome that, but she worried sometimes whether her daughters still saw her that way.

     “I'll always be here for you, but I understand that you'll want to stand on your own as warriors now, and I respect that,” she continued. “Just know that I always love you.”

     Surprise lit up in the sisters' eyes. “Don't be mousebrained,” Morningpaw mewed bluntly. “Of course we still need you!”

     Nightpaw took a gentler approach. “We are going to be warriors, and we can look after ourselves as much as any other warrior,” she mewed in a soft tone. “But the whole point of being in a Clan is that no cat stands alone. We all depend on each other. We don't want to be treated like kits, of course, but we'll always turn to you when we need you. You're our mother.”

     Joy lit up in Sasha's heart. “Thank you,” she purred. “All I want is for you two to be happy, whatever that means for me and your father.” She reached out her muzzle, touching her nose to Nightpaw's ear. “I'm just happy seeing you take your place as warriors. I'm so proud of both of you,” she repeated.

     For a moment, uncertainty flashed in Morningpaw's eyes. “Do you think our brother and sister would be proud of us too?” she asked. Sasha blinked at her in surprise. “If they knew us, I mean?”

     Grief twisted in Sasha's heart. Not a day had gone by that she didn't think of Mothwing and Hawkfrost, and of her poor lost Tadpole. The whole Clan knew about her past now. She had told them over time, when she'd been ready, when the hurt felt bad enough that she needed to share it with others. But the hurt grew less and less with every day. Hawkfrost and Mothwing were happy with their own Clan, and now, she had two beautiful, wonderful daughters that she'd never been forced to give up. She could see so much of her other kits in her daughters. Mothwing's compassion and thoughtfulness were reflected in Nightpaw, Tadpole's energy and joy in Morningpaw, and Hawkfrost's ferocity and courage in both of them. But they were their own cats too, and wonderful in all their own ways. It brought Sasha more joy than she had ever known to watch them grow into the extraordinary cats that they had become.

     “Of course they would be proud of you,” she murmured, rasping her tongue gently over Morningpaw's head. “They would be just as proud of you as I am.” She pulled back, gazing at both of her kits with equal pride. “And I know that right now, Tadpole is watching over all of us, and he's proud too.” She blinked slowly at both kits, then gave a quick shake of her head. “But today isn't about the past. It's about your future. So let's get going, before Bouncefire wonders where we got to.”

     “And when sunset comes, it'll finally be your time to be warriors.”

**SCENEBREAK**

     “Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Rockpile for a Clan meeting!”

     A crowd was already beginning to gather in front of the Rockpile before Shrewstar even opened his mouth. News of the ceremony had spread quickly through the Clan. Sasha near the front, next to Cherrytail and Graystorm. Everyone was in the crowd, even the daylight warriors. Oreopaw was sitting beside her father, Macgyver, and Lunacloud was sitting beside some of the younger warriors, the older daylight cats scattered in the crowd. The youngest warriors, Barkfall and Creamwillow, were sitting near their mother Peachflower, with their father Harrytooth on their mother's other side. Even some of the local kittypet and loner visitors had decided to stay for the day's ceremony. All of SkyClan and its friends were gathered together to celebrate this special moment.

     As Sasha sat, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted movement from the nursery. Two curious kits were poking their heads out of the nursery, but Cosettecloud quickly herded them back inside. Sasha's whiskers twitched. Cosettecloud and Birdshade hadn't been able to have kits of their own, but Cosettecloud had managed to find a kittypet tom willing to father kits for them, and now the couple was lovingly raising their kits together. Her heart stirred with joy. New life was starting all the time, and even now that her kits' journey growing up was done, new journeys were already starting.

     Sasha's attention was drawn back to the Rockpile as Shrewstar lifted his head. “Today is a day of celebration for our Clan,” he called out for every cat to hear. Joy was blazing in his eyes. “SkyClan has seen hard times and losses, and leafbare is coming soon to bring us more grief. But we will survive, as we have always done, and now two of our members are ready to join our ranks as full warriors. Step forward, Nightpaw and Morningpaw!”

     Sasha watched as her daughters made their way through the crowd. Their pelts were groomed to perfection, even Morningpaw's scruffy pelt, and their eyes were shining with joy as they came to stand before their father.

     Shrewstar leaped down from the Rockpile, coming to stand in front of his daughters. Love glowed in his eyes as he called out, “I, Shrewstar, leader of SkyClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn.” Pride glinted in his eyes. “Morningpaw, Nightpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?”

     “I do,” Morningpaw purred, joy blazing in her eyes.

     “I do,” Nightpaw echoed. Though outwardly she was calmer than her sister, Sasha could see the excitement she was hiding underneath.

     A purr escaped Shrewstar. “Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names.” His gaze slid briefly to Sasha. Her chest flooded with warmth – they had picked these warrior names together.

     “Nightpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Nightstream.” Sasha watched as her daughter stiffened in joy at her new name. Nightstream – a name for RiverClan and her connection to them, and for her calm and contemplative personality. “StarClan honors yours patience and your forethought, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SkyClan.” Nightstream purred her joy, ducking her head so Shrewstar could lay his chin over it.

     With his first daughter named, Shrewstar turned next to his second kit. “Morningpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Morningbreeze,” he announced. The newly-named Morningbreeze bristled in excitement. Sasha and Shrewstar had chosen her name for her energy and freedom, and for the spirit that she had inherited from both of her parents. “StarClan honors your determination and your spirit, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SkyClan.”

     A cheer rose up from the crowd. “Nightstream! Morningbreeze! Nightstream! Morningbreeze!” Sasha added her voice to the crowd, her heart ready to burst with joy as she called the new names of her kits. Morningbreeze and Nightstream stood before their Clanmates, practically trembling with joy as they were accepted as full warriors.

     Even as the ceremony came to an end, and the crowd broke up, Sasha remained where she was, her heart full of love and joy and contentment. She didn't look at Shrewstar as he came to stand beside her. She just kept her gaze fixed on the spot where Morningbreeze and Nightstream had padded out of camp to start their vigil. She felt nearly ready to burst with love. Her purring and Shrewstar's blended together as they sat side by side, until it was nearly thunderous in sound. There was no need for either cat to say a word.

     Sasha's life had been full of so much pain, and the losses and betrayals of those she had cared about the most. And that pain had taken a long time to work past. But in the end, it had all been worthwhile. She had two wonderful kits serving RiverClan with loyalty and love, and she knew that Tadpole still watched over her, safe in StarClan with the ancestors of SkyClan. And now, she had a Clan that she could call her own, a family that love and supported her, an amazing mate that she loved with all her heart. And most importantly, she had two amazing daughters who were now warriors of SkyClan beside her. One day, she would walk with all of them in StarClan, a united family once more. But for now she knew exactly where she belonged.

     And now, finally, she was happy.

END OF NOVELLA FIVE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are. The end of the novella. :D I'm gonna post the allegiances of SkyClan at the time of this last chapter in a few minutes, and I'll discuss full warrior names and fates for some of the cats there, so keep an eye out for that, but this is the end of the story proper.
> 
> Y'know, after Shrewfoot's Spite, it was nice to write a novella with a happy ending again. :P I'm not totally satisfied with this chapter, something about it is still bugging me, but it does hit the points I wanted to hit for the most part. Most of all, I wanted to show that Sasha is totally settled and happy in SkyClan, and that she's finally where she's always belonged, as a warrior of a Clan, and SkyClan has become a family to her. That's what the calling in the title refers to. I'm a total proponent of not every cat needing to be a warrior or a Clan cat to be happy and fulfilled, but that line from Return to the Clans about her being a warrior always had me totally convinced that Sasha was a Clan cat and a wariror through and through. This novella was a chance for me to finally explore that, and to pair her up with the Clan that I always felt fit her tolerance and compassion for others the best, SkyClan.
> 
> I always loved the idea of Shrewtooth leading SkyClan one day, so I definitely wanted to work that into this fic, as well as him giving his kits their warrior names, chosen by him and Sasha. I always loved Rabbitleap after the manga at the end of SkyClan's Destiny, so he was definitely my first choice for Shrewstar's deputy. ^^ I thought a lot about the names and designs and personalities for Sasha's second litter - I always knew I wanted to give her and Shrewstar kits of their own. Not everyone needs a romantic relationship or children to have their happy ending, and that's important to represent as well, but just with who Sasha is, it felt right that she would eventually want a second litter and that this time she would never have to have them taken away from her. Nightstream and Morningbreeze felt like fitting names for all of the reasons I listed in the story, and I tried to make their descriptions a good mix of their parents. I think I succeeded. ^^
> 
> We also learn here that Sasha mentored Embershade, the SkyClan kit she saved from drowning that started all of this, and that she now mentors Crowdusk's daughter Flutterpaw. I always felt she'd be a good mentor, and I thought her and Embershade's personalities would mesh well for that. ^^
> 
> I can't remember everything that I wanted to say here, but I think that covered most of it. It was really fun plotting out this novella and writing it, and it was so nice to finally give Sasha the happy ending I always felt that she deserved. Now, I mentioned earlier that I might be rather busy in the near future. My plans aren't totally settled yet, so that might not end up being the case, but it's possible that some real life stuff is going to keep me rather busy for the foreseeable future. If you don't see much content from me for a good while, that would be why, and though I have the next novella planned, I won't be starting it for quite a while. But don't worry - I'm not going away for good, and I definitely have more content planned for you guys. Until then, I hope you've enjoyed Sasha's Calling, and keep an eye out for the allegiances I'll be posting soon. I'll probably also be posting ref sheets for Morningbreeze and Nightstream soon. ^^


	13. Sasha's Calling Allegiances of SkyClan

Sasha’s Calling Allegiances

 

**SKYCLAN**

 

**LEADER**

SHREWSTAR - skinny black tom

**DEPUTY**

RABBITLEAP - brown tom

**MEDICINE CAT**

FRECKLEWISH - mottled light brown tabby she-cat with spotted legs, mother of Rabbitleap's kits (Chervilkit, a gray spotted tabby she-cat with yellow eyes, Fennelkit, a scruffy white tom with green eyes, and Mottlekit, a brown spotted tabby-and-white tom with pale green eyes)  
     APPRENTICE, SMOKESONG (black tom with amber eyes)

**WARRIORS**

SASHA - sleek tawny she-cat with darker points, a white belly, and ice-blue eyes  
     APPRENTICE, FLUTTERPAW  
CHERRYTAIL - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat  
EBONYCLAW - striking black she-cat  
HARVEYMOON - plump white tom  
MACGYVER - black-and-white tom  
BOUNCEFIRE - ginger tom  
MINTFUR - gray tabby she-cat  
EGG - cream tom with blue eyes  
CREEKFEATHER - gray tabby tom  
LUCKYLEAF - gray-and-white tom with amber eyes  
SANDYFOOT - light brown and ginger torbie tom with amber eyes  
BIRDSHADE - black tom  
DAWNBLOSSOM - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with pale green eyes  
STORMFALL - gray-and-ginger she-cat  
HARRYTOOTH - long-haired gray tom  
PEACHFLOWER - cream tabby she-cat with a white chest and paws and yellow eyes  
THYMELEAF - gray tabby she-cat with a white chest and green eyes  
LARCHLEAF - white tom with ginger tabby points and pale green eyes  
     APPRENTICE, BRIGHTPAW  
BRINDLESTORM - large dark tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with dark green eyes  
GOLDENTAIL - golden pointed tabby she-cat with pale blue eyes  
CROWDUSK - partially hairless black she-cat with golden eyes  
SOFTPETAL - fluffy very pale gray she-cat with pale green eyes  
BLIZZARDFANG - large, fluffy white tom with pale gray patches and golden eyes  
GRAYSTORM - gray tabby tom with a white chest, muzzle, paws, and green eyes  
RUFUSTAIL - fluffy, scruffy dark brown tom with pale yellow eyes  
     APPRENTICE, DAPPLEPAW  
KAYLEEWING - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with one amber eye and one green eyes  
LEAFBREEZE - gray tabby she-cat with a white chest and paws  
LUNACLOUD – black-and-white she-cat with amber eyes  
SPARKBREEZE - ginger tabby she-cat with yellow eyes  
EMBERSHADE - tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes  
DOVECLOUD - pale gray tom with yellow eyes  
CREAMWILLOW – cream tabby tom with amber eyes  
BARKFALL – long-haired gray-brown tom with yellow eyes  
NIGHTSTREAM – sleek black she-cat with a white chest and paws and ice-blue eyes  
MORNINGBREEZE – scruffy, lanky light brown pointed tabby she-cat with pale yellow-green eyes

**APPRENTICES**

DAPPLEPAW – dark gray-and-white she-cat with bald spots and yellow eyes  
BRIGHTPAW – partially-hairless white tom with amber eyes  
FLUTTERPAW – skinny, fluffy gray she-cat with a white muzzle and chest and golden eyes  
OREOPAW – skinny black-and-white tom

**QUEENS**

COSETTECLOUD - small, fluffy pale gray she-cat with pale amber eyes, mother of Birdshade's kits (Chirpkit, a small pale gray tom with green eyes, and Berrykit, a black-and-white she-cat with amber eyes)  
FIRELILY - ginger tabby she-cat, mother of Sandyfoot's kits (Splashkit, a light ginger-and-brown torbie-and-white she-cat with one green eye and one amber eye)  
HONEYFLOWER - light brown she-cat, expecting Egg's kits

**ELDERS**

WASPWHISKER - gray-and-white tom  
PATCHFOOT - black-and-white tom  
CLOVERTAIL - light brown she-cat with white belly and legs

 

**CATS OUTSIDE OF THE CLANS**

 

TETRA - golden tabby she-cat with green eyes, loner  
DAHLIA - pale gray tabby she-cat with pale green eyes, loner  
STREAM - gray she-cat with blue eyes, rogue  
LOLA - black she-cat with amber eyes, kittypet  
CASSIA - ginger-and-white she-cat with green eyes, kittypet  
ERIK - gray tabby tom, kittypet  
COAL - tattered back tom with amber eyes, loner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here are the allegiances for the final chapter of Sasha's Calling, which takes place two years after the main plot, just a few moons after the Dark Battle for the timeline of the other Clans.
> 
> SkyClan changed their code to allow warriors to mate with outsiders and to allow outsiders to visit the Clan, so I figured it would make sense to allow medicine cats to have kits as well. Frecklewish and Rabbitleap are mates, and two of her kits are named after the healing herbs she works with all the time. ^^ After I decided to make Frecklewish an ocicat, I really wanted to pass on those genes in SkyClan, so I decided to let her have kits. :P
> 
> All of the cats who were listed in the last allegiances but aren't listed here are dead and in SkyClan's StarClan. I'm not listing who led all of them to StarClan, but I will say that Tadpole is also in StarClan now, and was led there by Leafstar, who let him join once his mother joined SkyClan. He had previously been looked after by Ken and Jean and some kittypets in a human/kittypet afterlife, and he still visits them, as Sasha will when she dies, but he spends a lot of time in StarClan watching over his mother and siblings. Mothwing will also visit SkyClan's StarClan frequently to watch over her mother. Hawkfrost, of course, is nowhere at all after his spirit was killed by his brother. Poor Sasha. Last chapter had a bit of a bittersweetness to it, with Sasha not knowing that her son is dead and a traitor, and it'll hurt to learn once she dies and her kin in StarClan tell her. But she'll get through it, and she'll be happy and at peace with her family and loved ones surrounding her.
> 
> Softpetal, Blizzardfang, and Graystorm are of course Mintfur and Harveymoon's kits grown up. Rufustail and Kayleewing are Rufuspaw and Kayleepaw, I'm rather happy with their names. :D Leafbreeze is Leaf, as discussed in the last chapter, Lunacloud is a new daylight warrior. Sparkbreeze, Embershade, and Smokesong are Ebonyclaw's kits grown up - I tried to hint at Smokesong's future calling as a medicine cat in earlier chapters, but subtly. ^^ Dovecloud is Tinycloud's son grown up - his brother Sleetpaw died of a sickness that Frecklewish's herbs couldn't seem to cure before he finished his training. Sorry, but I felt the need to kill of at least one of the young set. :P Creamwillow and Barkfall are Peachflower and Harryooth's kits. Yay, Leafstar and Billystorm descendents. :D
> 
> And now for future warrior names:
> 
> Dapplepaw - Dapplecloud  
> Brightpaw - Brightfern  
> Flutterpaw - Flutterwing  
> Chirpkit - Chirpsong  
> Berrykit - dies young of greencough  
> Chervilkit - Chervilstorm  
> Fennelkit - Fenneltuft  
> Mottlekit - Mottlewing
> 
> They all grow up to become warriors because I say so. :P And Smokesong eventually becomes the full medicine cat of SkyClan.
> 
> I don't think there was any more than I wanted to say, I think I covered the rest in-chapter. Actually, wait, there is one more thing - I wrote up SkyClan's revised warrior code, and I'm gonna post that, because I feel like it and because it'll mirror how I posted new allegiances and a new code at the end of my first novella, Sushi's Society. And I do love me some parallels. ^^ So keep an eye out for that.


	14. SkyClan Warrior Code

SkyClan's Warrior Code:

1\. Defend your Clan, even with your life. You may have friendships with cats outside of the Clan, but your loyalty must remain to your Clan, as one day you may meet them in battle. 

2\. Do not hunt or trespass on territory that belongs to another cat unless necessary for the good of the Clan. 

3\. Elders, queens, and kits must be fed before apprentices and warriors. Unless they have permission, apprentices may not eat until they have hunted to feed the elders. If any warrior or apprentice is sick or injured, they may eat while the elders, queens, and kits are eating.

4\. Prey is killed only to be eaten. Give thanks to StarClan for its life.

5\. A kit must be at least six moons old to become an apprentice. 

6\. Newly appointed warriors will keep a silent vigil for one night after receiving their warrior name. 

7\. A cat cannot be made deputy without having mentored at least one apprentice. 

8\. The deputy will become Clan leader when the leader dies, retires or is exiled.

9\. After the death or retirement of the deputy, the new deputy must be chosen before moonhigh.

10\. A Gathering of all Clan cats is held at the full moon during a truce that lasts for the night. There shall be no fighting during that truce, unless in necessary self-defense.

11\. Boundaries must be checked and marked daily. Confront all trespassers - but only attack if a clear threat is posed to the Clan. Not all trespassers are enemies.

12\. No warrior can neglect a kit in pain or danger, even if the kit is from outside of the Clan.

13\. The word of the Clan leader is the warrior code - but a leader must lead according to what is best for their Clan, and must listen to criticism from their Clanmates.

14\. An honorable warrior does not need to kill other cats to win his/her battles, unless it is necessary for self-defense or the defense of others.

15\. Cats may serve their Clan during the day as daylight warriors and live with twolegs by night as kittypets. However, any other Clan cat must not draw unnecessary attention from twolegs, for the safety of the Clan.

16\. Any cat may visit the Clan and take part in training - however, visitors must hunt for the Clan every day, and must stay with the Clan for a full moon before they are taught to fight.

17\. Any cat who brings outside danger to the Clan must leave - a Clan is not a fighting force for outsiders to use for their own battles.

18\. Clan cats may take outsiders as their mates, or have kits outside of the Clan - however, they must put their loyalty to their Clan first, and kin of Clan cats must adhere to the warrior code while on Clan territory or be chased out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing too exciting to say here, it's just SkyClan's warrior code as it has deviated from the other Clans' code over the seasons. ^^ A lot of this is straight from Code of the Clans and belongs to the Erin Hunters, but some of it has been tweaked to address the fact that SkyClan doesn't have other Clans to consider, and also to fit SkyClan's more tolerant approach to outsiders. The new laws that Leafstar added at the end of SkyClan's destiny have also been added, as well as the code mentioned in Sasha's Calling about outsiders being acceptable as mates for Clan cats.


End file.
